Millions of the British people have for some years now been struggling valiantly to live with hard times, watching them day by day grow worse but always hopefully that the cloud…
Abstract
Millions of the British people have for some years now been struggling valiantly to live with hard times, watching them day by day grow worse but always hopefully that the cloud had a silver lining; that one day, reason and a sense of direction would prevail. Tyranny in many forms is a feature of history; the greatest epics have been risings of ordinary people to overthrow it. The modern form of tyranny is that of Money; the cruel and sinister ways in which it can be obtained and employed and the ineffectiveness of any measures taken to control the evils which result. Money savings over the years and the proverbial bank book, once the sure safeguard of ordinary people, are whittled away in value, never to recover. Causes always seemed to be contained within the country's own economy and industrial practices, and to this extent should have been possible of control. The complex and elaborate systems constructed by the last Government were at least intended for the purpose, but each attempt to curb excessive demands for more money, more and more for doing less and less— the nucleus of inflation—produced extreme reactions, termed collectively “industrial strife”. Every demand met without compensatory returns in increased work, inevitably led to rises in prices, felt most keenly in the field of food and consumer goods. What else would be expected from such a situation?
Those who move among the people with their eyes open will not doubt that the number of non‐smokers is increasing, but mostly among older adults. Sales of cigarettes, despite the…
Abstract
Those who move among the people with their eyes open will not doubt that the number of non‐smokers is increasing, but mostly among older adults. Sales of cigarettes, despite the ban on advertising and the grim warning printed on packets, do not reflect this however, which can only mean that those who still smoke are the heavy smokers. This is a bad sign; as is the fact that youngsters, including a high percentage of those at school, openly flaunt the habit. The offence of using tobacco or any other smoking mixture or snuff while handling food or in any food room in which there is open food (Reg. 10(e)), remains one of the common causes of prosecutions under the Food Hygiene Regulations; it has not diminished over the years. The commonest offenders are men and especially those in the butchery trade, fishmongers and stall‐holders, but, here again, to those who move around, the habit seems fairely widespread. Parts of cigarettes continue to be a common finding especially in bread and flour confectionery, but also in fresh meat, indicating that an offence has been committed, and only a few of the offenders end up in court. Our purpose in returning to the subject of smoking, however, is not to relate it to food hygiene but to discuss measures of control being suggested by the Government now that advertising bans and printed health warnings have patently failed to achieve their object.
Looks at some of the pros and cons of technology‐based training(TBT). TBT can make a training experience both realistic and stimulatingfor the learner and, because of the…
Abstract
Looks at some of the pros and cons of technology‐based training (TBT). TBT can make a training experience both realistic and stimulating for the learner and, because of the reduction in travelling and subsistence overheads, cost‐effective for the employer. Illustrates some of the current issues in the development of TBT in industry. Considers why many employers have been slow to take it up.
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In the December issue of this journal I suggested that: • the financial evaluation of training costs is extremely difficult in the present state of our knowledge • the present…
Abstract
In the December issue of this journal I suggested that: • the financial evaluation of training costs is extremely difficult in the present state of our knowledge • the present system of grant aid is inherently inefficient and training is a special case because trained people, unlike other investments can leave the firm once they are trained, thus representing a dead loss in training costs. To meet this I suggested: • training costs should be amortised over a given period • if a trainee leaves, his outstanding costs should become a charge on the new employer and a credit to the employer who carried out the training (thus shifting the cost of training from producer to consumer) • Government support would be necessary for such a scheme in the way of collecting and distributing these payments via PAYE or National Health Insurance contributions. In this article I want to consider how such a scheme would work in practice and to discuss some points which have arisen from the earlier article.
Few people would contest the statement that ‘training is an investment’. It is an investment in the future, one which it is essential for industry to undertake in order to meet…
Abstract
Few people would contest the statement that ‘training is an investment’. It is an investment in the future, one which it is essential for industry to undertake in order to meet the continually growing demand for skilled personnel to handle the ever increasing pace of change. Rightly, then, training as an investment is emphasised on basic training officer courses, it is the subject of many a Government exhortation and prominent businessmen go out of their way to emphasise their belief in it. It is widely publicised by the Industrial Training Boards. The slogan ‘train and gain’ was not coined by an Industrial Training Board simply to advertise the fact that they had been throwing money around as though it were going out of fashion, it was also intended to emphasise the long term gains to be made by investing in training. Looking even further back to the discussions which preceded the passing of the Industrial Training Act, one of the objectives much stressed when the levy and grant system was established was to spread the costs of this investment evenly across industry. The firms who undertook training were to be subsidised by those who benefited from it but did not undertake it. Talking and listening to training practitioners it seems axiomatic that training is an investment and equally axiomatic that, due to the inexplicable failure of management to recognise this, it is one which is in danger of being seriously neglected. To doubt what is so evidently the case is something which, in the training field, amounts to nothing less than heresy.
In this chapter, I trace Arizona's prison siting and construction history to examine how cultural norms and traditions, economics, political prerogatives, and notions about the…
Abstract
In this chapter, I trace Arizona's prison siting and construction history to examine how cultural norms and traditions, economics, political prerogatives, and notions about the prison's purpose shape how such institutions are conceived, planned, and realized over time. By looking longitudinally at how prisons have come to be – as physical entities – in one locale, I reveal both the continuities and changes in the underlying meaning of the prison. In doing so, I aim to contribute to a broader understanding of the process of late modern penal change, especially the proliferation of prison building in the past 30 years.
Felix Villalba-Romero and Champika Liyanage
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the payment models and financing structures used for road Infrastructure projects under public private partnerships (PPPs) in the UK…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the payment models and financing structures used for road Infrastructure projects under public private partnerships (PPPs) in the UK. Comparison of funding and financial structures in the selected case studies exposes the risks and values of the models of payment utilised. This research also aims to identify relationships with payment certainty and financing debt restructuring.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper compares several case studies representing the evolution of private finance initiative road infrastructure in the UK context. Templates were completed using semi- structured interviews during data collection; and a qualitative content analysis approach was employed for case study analysis.
Findings
Lessons learned from using different payment methods show the benefit and limitations of adopting different forms of PPP in road development. Refinancing of projects presents substantial risks to the viability of a project, and benefits gained by the private sector. Further, refinancing brings no significant benefits to the public sector as well.
Practical implications
Performance of selected case studies highlights emerging issues that need to be considered when adopting a PPP procurement route in roads projects. Financial markets have supported these projects under different risk profiles and payment models. They also have the potential to play a greater part in capitalising long-term investment in road projects and increase private sector participation in infrastructure development, generating more competition and innovation.
Originality/value
This paper provides case study comparison and practical implications of recent PPP developments in road provision in the UK and the evolution of public policy in the subject.
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Rima Bizri, Marwan Wahbi and Hussein Al Jardali
One of the main challenges of human resource management (HRM) functions is how to leverage an organization's corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices for the improvement of…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the main challenges of human resource management (HRM) functions is how to leverage an organization's corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices for the improvement of employees' job performance. The rationale is that employees identify with and learn from CSR best practices and try to replicate them in their own capacities on the job, thus elevating levels of performance. This study aims at investigating the impact of organizational CSR practices on employee job performance, in the presence of important job attitudes, namely, affective commitment and work engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed structural equation modeling to analyze data that were collected through a survey of previously validated scales. The survey was distributed using the convenience sampling technique among respondents in the Lebanese banking sector, and 302 useable surveys were collected.
Findings
The structural model confirmed the significant influence of CSR best practices on job performance, in the presence of significant mediation effects of affective commitment and work engagement.
Practical implications
The effects of organizational CSR could be underscored through a variety of HR initiatives that aim at promoting employees' identification with the organization and its CSR goals, thereby enhancing affective organizational commitment and work engagement. Levels of affective commitment and work engagement could be periodically assessed and enhanced through HR-led programs to facilitate and augment their mediatory effects on job performance.
Originality/value
This study fills a gap in the literature by shedding light on the impact of CSR practices on employees' affective commitment and work engagement within the framework of the social cognitive theory. It highlights the importance of employees' identification with their organization's CSR values and practices, leading to improved job performance, a dynamic that has not been studied in previous research. This study also serves as a point of reference to future studies that will be conducted after the Lebanese banking sector undergoes restructuring, following accusations of corruption and mismanagement.
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Here I present a theory of collective action that emphasizes the role of status. I argue that collective action contributions earn individuals improved status by signaling their…
Abstract
Here I present a theory of collective action that emphasizes the role of status. I argue that collective action contributions earn individuals improved status by signaling their concern for the group's welfare relative to their own. Having received greater prestige for their contributions to group goals, individuals’ actual motivation to help the group is increased, leading to greater subsequent contributions to group efforts and greater feelings of group solidarity. This “virtuous cycle” of costly contributions to group efforts and enhanced standing in the group shows one way in which individuals’ prosocial behaviors are socially constructed, a consequence of individuals’ basic concern for what others think of them. I discuss a variety of issues related to the theory, including its scope of application, theoretical implications, relationship to alternative models of reputation and prosocial behavior, possible practical applications, and directions for future research.
Dorothy Badry, Kelly D. Coons-Harding, Jocelynn Cook and Alan Bocking
The purpose of this paper is to present a profile of the Canada fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (CanFASD) research network which is descriptive in nature and profiles the work of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a profile of the Canada fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (CanFASD) research network which is descriptive in nature and profiles the work of the network and its national activities. CanFASD is a unique Canadian, non-governmental organization whose aim is to engage cross-disciplinary research and knowledge translation for stakeholders and partners including communities, policy makers and governments.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study approach was undertaken to describe the network whose main focus and purpose is specifically research related to FASD.
Findings
The creation of CanFASD has contributed to a strong network of researchers on key topic areas including diagnosis, prevention, intervention, justice and child welfare, with a focus on evidence-based decision making, research and knowledge exchange. A key role of the network is to provide access to research and education on FASD nationally.
Research limitations/implications
A case study approach, while descriptive, does not provide the details of specific research projects.
Originality/value
CanFASD has had a key role in stimulating meaningful dialogue and research in the field of FASD. The need exists to collaboratively work on a national and international basis in response to the distinct challenges posed by FASD for individuals, families and society.