bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Literary patronage in Medieval England, 1350‐1550
Authors: Walsh John 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the change literary patronage underwent in England after the introduction of print, and attempt to explain the causes for the shift.Design/methodology/approachProvides a historical review of the period.FindingsThe practice became more of a marketing tool in bookmaking. The patronage of printed books was one of endorsement. It was a patronage that came from the use of a prestigious or powerful name, not from the financial support of a wealthy personage. Literary patronage of late Medieval England was a practice of financial support. A person of wealth would accept the financial responsibility involved with the production of literary materials. The patron became an important part of the bookmaking process and without the contributions of a patron most books would not have been produced. After the invention of the printing press, the role of patronage changed.Research limitations/implicationsAnalyses an era in the history of book publishing in England and should be of interest to scholars of Medieval England, and publishing and library history.Originality/valueProvides a review of patronage in an important era for changes in publishing.
Development of transnational collective bargaining in Europe
Authors: Gennard John 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this editorial is to examine the development of transnational collective bargaining at the company level in EuropeDesign/methodology/approachThis editorial outlines the levels at which bargaining takes place in the European Union, the EU Commission proposals for a procedure for transnational collective bargaining, the procedures agreed by the EMF and UNI‐Europa Graphical for the negotiation of company‐wide transnational agreements, and the content of some existing transnational company‐wide agreements.FindingsThe existence of company‐wide transnational agreements demonstrates that European industry federations can provide added value to multinational companies by providing effective procedures within which transnational company agreements can be concluded. They also demonstrate that the negotiation of such agreements requires substantial resources and cannot be done without the assistance of the EWC. The existing transnational collective agreements in the metal trades show that European trade union organisations have to be determined to follow procedure, provide a trade union answer to EWC bargaining and that national based unions are unlikely to be able to negotiate with European level corporate management. Above all, existing transnational company collective agreements show that the EMF procedure for the negotiation of such agreements is effective, credible and workable.Originality/valueThe editorial offers insights into the process and procedures involved in negotiating company‐wide transnational agreements.
On leaving the nunnery: management in trade unions
Authors: Dempsey Michael , Brewster Chris 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore trade union management, using data from four major unions. Managers and management have generally been absent from trade union discourse but unions are substantial organisations that need good management. The paper seeks to understand the extent to which senior trade union officials accept managerial roles and to discuss the significance of this.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on 56 interviews with senior trade union managers using a case study approach.FindingsThe paper concludes that management is consciously understood and implemented by trade union leaders who take their managerial roles and achieving the goals of the members seriously. It suggests that this is likely to affect the dynamics of the relationships between the various actors in trade union democracy.Research limitations/implicationsEvidence is gained from trade union managers themselves. Further research needs to focus both on the managed and on the lay members to whom managers are accountable.Originality/valueThis paper begins to fill a lacuna in the literature examining the way unions operate by concentrating on managers and management rather than on administration.
The impact of organisational change on public sector employees implementing the UK Government's “Back to work” programme
Authors: Greasley Kay , Watson Paul , Patel Shilpa 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the impact of organisational change on public sector employees utilising the implementation of the UK Government's “Back to work” programme (BTW) as a case study example. The paper seeks to explore the employee response to the changes they experience as a result of this new initiative.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach was adopted for this study, employing in‐depth interviews across the UK. The interview strategy sought to focus on the individual experiences and perceptions of those involved in the operation of the programme.FindingsThe findings highlight how the interviewees face organisational change as part of their everyday life, with the pace of change increasing and becoming more radical. Many of these organisational changes are related to the introduction of new initiatives that require amendments to existing working practices. It was found that a lack of permanency and constant switching of initiatives, imposed by central government, could result in cynical attitudes towards a new initiative as interviewees await the newer, bigger and brighter programme.Practical implicationsThe study indicates that when a new initiative is introduced this involves change which impacts on employees and there needs to be a management response to this challenge to ensure that initiatives are successful. Notably there needs to be a move from quick fix, early‐win outcomes as new programmes take time and effort.Originality/valueThe paper presents empirical evidence of the impact of change as a result of a new initiative involving public sector employees. It demonstrates how the political context driving new initiatives like the BTW programme affects employees on the “shopfloor” and emphasises the need for management to respond to this challenge.
From normative to tacit knowledge: CVs analysis in personnel selection
Authors: Vieira Campos Proença Maria Teresa , Valente Dias de Oliveira Eva Teresa 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThis study aims to investigate decision‐making processes and to identify factors which influence managers in the selection of job applicants' CVs and how these factors differ from the firm's recruitment and selection policy.Design/methodology/approachTwenty‐four semi‐structured interviews were conducted among HR managers or similar staff members responsible for recruiting and selection in small, medium, and large‐sized Portuguese firms. The interview comprised two parts: description of the selection policies that they used followed by a CV assessment game to understand decisions regarding the acceptance of a specific candidate.FindingsInterviewees' narratives are similar, describing a step‐by‐step process based on the firm's explicit policy and the model of a prediction of the job candidates' future performance based on subjective criteria.Research limitations/implicationsPossibly, the results described are related to the research methodology – more specifically the use of a fictional set of CVs where the decisions made do not have any consequences. At the same time, managers are more relaxed when playing the “CV game” and tend to adopt more genuine and usual behaviours.Practical implicationsThe paper calls for an integrative practice in CV analysis combining both the structured and rational dimension and the informal dimension (tacit knowledge, emotion and intuition).Originality/valueThe paper stresses the paradoxical behaviour of practitioners. On the one hand, the “good” of rational procedures is part of their rhetoric; on the other hand, the use of emotion and intuition is revealed in their practices.
Customer‐orientated Six Sigma in call centre performance measurement
Authors: McAdam Rodney , Davies John , Keogh Bill , Finnegan Anthony 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to explore the role of Six Sigma performance measurement at both strategic and operational levels within call centres where the definition of Six Sigma is widened to include systems thinking constructs.Design/methodology/approachA two‐phase methodology is used involving two call centre cases within a call centre group. Phase 1 establishes the need for Six Sigma customer‐based measures in addition to internal performance measures and phase 2 studies the implementation of this wider set of Six Sigma performance measures.FindingsThe development and application of Six Sigma performance measures that cover both strategic and operational performance measures lead to a more sustainable approach to business improvement, rather than traditional call centre internal performance measures which may be misleading for the overall performance of the call centre.Research limitations/implicationsThe development of the strategic and operational, or double, DMAIC approach offers opportunities for developing wider applications in service contexts using customer‐orientated performance measures.Practical implicationsIf call centres rely solely on internal performance measures, a misleading picture of call centre performance may be obtained. There is a need to apply Six Sigma to cover both strategic and operational performance measures.Originality/valueA combined strategic and operational approach to Six Sigma has been developed which enables service‐based organisations (call centres) to develop sustainable business improvement.
The effect of gauge measurement capability on MCp and its statistical properties
Authors: Shishebori Davood , Zeinal Hamadani Ali 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to consider the effect of gauge measurement capability on the multivariate process capability index (MCp).Design/methodology/approachWith respect to measurement capability, the paper investigates the statistical properties of the estimated MCp and considers the effect of gauge measurement capability on the lower confidence bound, hypothesis testing, critical value and power of testing for MCp at the mentioned state.FindingsThe results show that gauge measurement capabilities will notably change the results of estimating and testing the process capability index.Originality/valueThe research would help quality experts to determine whether their processes meet the required capability, and to make more reliable decisions.
Multi‐response robust screening in quality construction blue‐printing
Authors: Besseris George J. 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to circumvent the multi‐distribution effects and small sample constraints that may arise in unreplicated‐saturated fractional factorial designs during construction blueprint screening.Design/methodology/approachA simple additive ranking scheme is devised based on converting the responses of interest to rank variables regardless of the nature of each response and the optimization direction that may be issued for each of them. Collapsing all ranked responses to a single rank response, appropriately referred to as “Super‐Ranking”, allows simultaneous optimization for all factor settings considered.Research limitations/implicationsThe Super‐Rank response is treated by Wilcoxon's rank sum test or Mann‐Whitney's test, aiming to establish possible factor‐setting differences by exploring their statistical significance. An optimal value for each response is predicted.Practical implicationsIt is stressed, by example, that the model may handle simultaneously any number of quality characteristics. A case study based on a real geotechnical engineering project is used to illustrate how this method may be applied for optimizing simultaneously three quality characteristics that belong to each of the three possible cases, i.e. “nominal‐is‐best”, “larger‐is‐better”, and “smaller‐is‐better” respectively. For this reason, a screening set of experiments is performed on a professional CAD/CAE software package making use of an L8(27) orthogonal array where all seven factor columns are saturated by group excavation controls.Originality/valueThe statistical nature of this method is discussed in comparison with results produced by the desirability method for the case of exhausted degrees of freedom for the error. The case study itself is a unique paradigm from the area of construction operations management.
Effect of individual components on system's reliability
Authors: Chandler Mark R. , Affan Badar M. 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the effect of individual components' reliability on a system's reliability. The system refers to the Financial Management Information System (FMIS), the US Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) web‐based project approval and tracking software. Its components are 61 project information fields.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis would view each highway project‐funding request as an activity with cycle‐dependent performance for which success probability can be calculated as Reliability, R. The reliability analysis of the 61 FMIS fields results in a series system with Rsys the “estimated reliability” of finding “true” values in all 61 information fields during one highway‐related project funding authorization review.FindingsOf an estimated 200 projects approved, there was previously estimated a 50 percent to 80 percent unreliability rate, while the study found an unreliability rate of approximately 80 percent.Research limitations/implicationsOwing to the nature of federal government software, data can be very difficult to acquire in this working environment, but a simple calculation was relatively successful in confirming the “estimated reliability” of finding “true” values and showing how the reliability could dramatically decrease.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the applicability of reliability analysis to project approval software, showing the progression from estimated data to bounding the estimate using reliability theory.
Do incentives, complexity and the demand for leisure explain caesarean‐section deliveries?
Authors: Costa i Font Joan 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the determinants of quality in obstetric care and particularly why caesarean sections (CS) are experiencing unprecedented increases in developed societies.Design/methodology/approachThe paper exploits a population‐based database containing records on the determinants of CS to study the effects of hospital complexity and private financing and controlling for clinical and social determinants. The data refer to the entire population deliveries data from year 2003 as collected by the Catalan Health Service (Conjunt Mínim de Base de Dades). This paper employs multivariate statistical analysis and it distinguishes between total, programmed and non‐programmed deliveries.FindingsPrivately financed hospitals and hospital complexity are significant determinants of the probability of a CS. Overall, the paper finds significant clinical variability between public and private hospitals. The significance of mother's age suggests that the delay in the motherhood is more likely to increase the probability of a CS in public hospital deliveries while it is not the case of private hospitals. It finds that demand for leisure and capacity explains CS in public hospitals but not in private hospitals.Practical implicationsQuality of care is influenced by reimbursement mechanism along with provider complexity, which suggests that there is scope for improvement in providers pay per intervention.Originality/valueThe nature of the data and methods.
Policy in the knowledge economy social network: a social capital redux
Authors: Goorha Prateek 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to suggest how enabling policy should be focused in a knowledge economy by developing the concept of a knowledge economy social network (KESN).Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs an interdisciplinary approach in developing the KESN by drawing on concepts and methodology from economics, political science and social network theory.FindingsThe KESN's social capital is defined. As such, maintaining accountability, increasing cohesion and connections among knowledge actors are suggested as relevant guidelines for policy in the KESN.Research limitations/implicationsThe knowledge economy should ideally be seen as having unique needs compared to the traditional economy in devising policy.Practical implicationsThe paper suggests using the KESN as a basis for devising policy for a knowledge economy.Originality/valueThe paper uses an interdisciplinary approach to studying the knowledge economy and introduces the KESN.
Economic reforms and social justice in India
Authors: Satija Kalpana C. 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to specify some historical and current issue regarding this subject. Like, what has been the relative importance attached to the different aspects of policy; what has been the pace and progress of reform process.Design/methodology/approachThe paper begins with a short discussion of the background of the study and overview of post‐independence economic policy. Hence it is a descriptive study that it finds some data from government site. This paper is thought to provide more reliable information about above impacts for policy makers and State and Central Government.FindingsThe paper specifically focuses upon economic reforms and social justice in India, issues relating to the progress of economic reforms, need of reforms for human face. More generally, the paper suggests that government should make relatively limited use of key performance Indicators for economic reforms and have high‐level participation rates benchmarking for social justice exercises.Research limitations/implicationsSome implications are the timing of the various policies and, more importantly, their sequencing and the relative importance attached to the different aspects of policy, in as much as domestic priorities relating to the provision of education, health and employment, globalization of the economy.Practical implicationsThe paper can help to promote administrative, managerial, and financial support for economic reforms and social justice in India and emphasis the responsibility to the state and central to enlarge reforms opportunities and encourage economic development.Originality/valueIndian Government decides to accelerate the rate of economic growth and to speed up industrialization, to develop heavy industries, to reduce disparities in income and wealth through economic reforms and social justice.
Christian mutual funds, codes of ethics and corporate illegalities
Authors: Dion Michel 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the compatibility between the religious investing criteria of some Christian mutual funds and the “ Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility” (ICCR) shareholder resolutions about corporate unethical/illegal practices.Design/methodology/approachAmong all ICCR 2007‐2008 shareholder resolutions, the paper analyze unethical practices that could lead to corporate illegalities for business corporations that are included in the portfolios of Christian mutual funds. It will determines to what extent such companies have codes of ethics that clearly explained the expected behaviour from their employees, managers, or directors about given ethical issues: sexual orientation discrimination, conflicts of interest on the board and slave labour in the supply chain.FindingsAbout the issue of slave labour in the supply chain, managers of Christian mutual funds could not invoke ignorance since in the code of ethics of one company, there is no provision dealing with slave labour. Concerning conflicts of interest on the board, managers of Christian mutual funds could not identify potential risks related to those companies, since the problem is the applicability of their codes of ethics. Finally, companies have very different ways to address or not the issue of sexual orientation discrimination in their codes of ethics.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper is twofold: first to compare companies Christian mutual funds are investing in (on the basis of Christian selection criteria) and companies for which there are ICCR resolutions (the aim of such resolutions is to change some questionable or unethical aspect of a given business corporation), and second to see to what extent corporate codes of ethics are written in a way to reduce or increase the potentiality of ethical conflicts.
Substituting corporate saving for personal saving
Authors: Dwayne Barney L. , Schooley Diane K. , White Harry 
Published: July 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis that savers may be substituting equity capital gains from stockholdings for traditional measures of personal saving. The analysis also aims to investigate dividend yield (DY) as a signal to investors about corporate saving rates (CSRs).Design/methodology/approachRegression analysis is used to examine the relationship between personal saving and corporate saving. The personal saving rate (PSR) is the dependent variable while three measures of corporate saving (S&P500 corporate saving rate (SPSR), S&P500 DY and national income and product accounts (NIPA) CSR) alternatively serve as the independent variable.FindingsThe results confirm that personal saving is negatively related to corporate saving for large‐cap publicly traded firms. The study also finds a significant positive relationship between DY and PSR, offering support that DY provides an observable signal about corporate saving.Research limitations/implicationsThe relationship between personal and CSRs is found to be robust through time. However, the downward spiral the US economy is experiencing today will provide unique and interesting data for examining the relationship in future studies.Originality/valueThis analysis differs from previous approaches by utilizing retained earnings, rather than stock market capital gains, to measure corporate saving, and provides new evidence that individuals substitute corporate saving for personal saving. The alarm expressed by the media and government over falling PSRs may not be warranted. Individuals appear to adjust personal rates to reflect the changes in corporate saving and reach the total saving rate that is optimal.