Search results

The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the life of the musician Brian Wilson from five different perspectives.

The authors used a mixed method of collaborative autoethnography, psychobiography and digital team ethnography to try and better understand the life and contributions of Brian Wilson.

Each of the five contributors provides different insights into the life and music of Brian Wilson.

While the focus of this paper is on a single individual, a case study, the long and distinguished life of Brian Wilson provides much material for discussion and theorising.

Each individual presenting to mental health services has a complex biography. The five different contributions articulated in this paper could perhaps be taken as similar to the range of professional opinions seen in mental health teams, with each focusing on unique but overlapping aspects of the person’s story.

This account shows the importance of taking a biological-psychological-social-spiritual and cultural perspective on mental illness.

This multi-layered analysis brings a range of perspectives to bear on the life and achievements of Brian Wilson, from developmental, musical, psychological and lived experience standpoints.

The purpose of this paper is to present a continuous improvement methodology developed in an aerospace company that is successfully being used by other companies in various industries.

A case study was undertaken at a medium‐sized aerospace company for over a span of one year. Data was collected through in‐depth interviews, attendance at formal and informal meetings, observation, and company documentation.

The paper provides an overview of a continuous improvement methodology known as Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE™), which aims to achieve world‐class quality in products and processes. The paper describes in detail the tools and techniques needed to implement and maintain the methodology. It was found that the company is very successful in addressing a wide range of aspects in the organization, always with the viewpoint that the customer is number one. This methodology is successful to the point that it is being used by other companies in various industries.

The approach of the ACE™ methodology can be applied to a variety of companies.

This paper presents for the first time the comprehensive Continuous Improvement methodology ACE™. The paper should be of value to practitioners of continuous improvement programs who are interested in a comprehensive approach to achieving excellence.

This report on the Fifth Annual Conference of the Association of Strategic Planning (ASP), “Strategy in action: lessons from practice,” was held in Long Beach, California. This report covers the two keynote speakers plus highlights from a selection of the presentations (for more information see the ASP website: www.strategyplus.org). Purpose – The article summarizes the highlights of the Association for Strategic Planning's 2006 Annual Conference held on February 28, 2006 in Long Beach, California, one of the premier strategic‐planning conferences in the US. Design/methodology/approach – This is reportage on the annual ASP conference. Findings – The remarks of the two keynote speakers are summarized: W. Chan Kim's on “blue ocean strategy” that makes the competition irrelevant, and Milind Lele's remarks on situational monopolies that also, for a time, gets rid of competition. Both authors' remarks were based on recently published best selling books. In addition, of 40 other presentations offered in concurrent sessions, the article highlights a select few, enough to give a flavor of the conference theme of “Strategy in action – lessons from practice”. Practical implications – The actual conference (and this report) was targeted both to practitioners and strategic consultants eager to learn about the latest methods and pitfalls in doing strategic planning. Originality/value – Both audiences will benefit from reading this article principally by learning about the experiences, experiments, and successes of other companies' and consultants' efforts in actually doing strategic planning.

The idea for this hugely successful event at the Crucible Theatre on 7 June, came first from the pages of New Library World, believe it or not. Reading one of Jane Little's articles advertising Feminist Book Fortnight, I noticed that there was not going to be a feminist book fair in this country this year, and that the main fair was to be in Oslo. It seemed an ideal opportunity to alter Sheffield's image as the macho snooker playing capital of the North and the idea for the First Sheffield Women's Book Fair was born.

Looks at the role of the pollster in the UK and the USA and suggests that the UK pollster’s influence is modest, particularly when compared to his counterpart in the USA. Tries to explain why a more enduring relationship between pollsters and parties has not emerged. Concludes by suggesting that the political role of communications professionals may be about to change, with the advent of a new generation of politicians, apparently more at ease with the political uses of market research and public relations.

This is an adaptation of the opening address given by Sister Elizabeth Davis to the Canadian Healthcare Association’s intramural session for its Distance Education programme. The intramural session is an intensive week of plenary and programme‐specific sessions, working groups and student presentations.

Amongst one of the most progressive worker participation programmes currently being developed is the one by the Cadbury‐Schweppes group. Much has been written elsewhere about the philosophy and approach being used. ICT were recently able to discuss the training and people development approaches that have been adopted by one of the Cadbury‐Schweppes group operating units — Fry's at Somerdale.

Following enactment of the federal Endangered Species Act in 1973, a variety of organizations proceeded to establish lists of endangered, threatened, or rare species of wildlife that they believed fell within their purview. State lists, as opposed to regional or national lists, are of particular importance because they form a rigorous record of the status of species in small, well‐defined geographic areas. State lists also indicate the development status of legal management efforts in the various states and are, therefore, predictors of how rigorously species variety will be maintained. Online searches of environment, legal, and government indexes (Enviroline, NTIS, Agricola, and others) demonstrated that there is no organized way to identify official state lists and that, in fact, few official lists are cited within the voluminous environment literature.