Martin Burch, Alan Harding and James Rees
The purpose of this paper is to ask how the UK Government can currently hold such incommensurable positions, explicitly and implicitly, in respect of spatial development…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to ask how the UK Government can currently hold such incommensurable positions, explicitly and implicitly, in respect of spatial development priorities within England, and suggest a research agenda that might produce a better understanding of such contradictions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper contrasts evidence on the changing spatial economic geography of the UK with data on recent trends in identifiable regional public expenditure. Current spatial development policy is analysed in detail and contrasted with a range of implicit development decisions made by central government in recent years. The paper considers the adequacy of the literature on metropolitan dominance within UK political and economic life in explaining the discrepancies between what government says and does in terms of spatial development.
Findings
Significant discrepancies are found between formal spatial development aspirations as expressed in the Public Service Agreement on Regional Economic Performance and the outcomes of actual spatial development decisions, which are likely to widen rather than reduce the gap between regional growth rates. An important part of the explanation for this divergence is the metropolitan dominance of London but further work is needed on how this might better be conceptualised and measured.
Practical implications
A number of key lines of enquiry for further research on the future of UK metropolitanism and the sustainability of current policy choices are outlined.
Originality/value
This paper makes an original contribution to detailing the disjuncture between formal and implicit spatial development priorities, which will be of value to academics and policy makers.
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Gregori Galofré-Vilà, Andrew Hinde and Aravinda Meera Guntupalli
This chapter uses a dataset of heights calculated from the femurs of skeletal remains to explore the development of stature in England across the last two millennia. We find that…
Abstract
This chapter uses a dataset of heights calculated from the femurs of skeletal remains to explore the development of stature in England across the last two millennia. We find that heights increased during the Roman period and then steadily fell during the “Dark Ages” in the early medieval period. At the turn of the first millennium, heights grew rapidly, but after 1200 they started to decline coinciding with the agricultural depression, the Great Famine, and the Black Death. Then they recovered to reach a plateau which they maintained for almost 300 years, before falling on the eve of industrialization. The data show that average heights in England in the early nineteenth century were comparable to those in Roman times, and that average heights reported between 1400 and 1700 were similar to those of the twentieth century. This chapter also discusses the association of heights across time with some potential determinants and correlates (real wages, inequality, food supply, climate change, and expectation of life), showing that in the long run heights change with these variables, and that in certain periods, notably the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the associations are observable over the shorter run as well. We also examine potential biases surrounding the use of skeletal remains.
The partnership of a chemical manufacturing company and a management training centre has resulted in the creation of a series of management training courses which combine some…
Abstract
The partnership of a chemical manufacturing company and a management training centre has resulted in the creation of a series of management training courses which combine some highly effective learning methods with the specific needs of developing mnagers. The experience has provided a fresh departure in management training. The techniques described are not new, but the way they are used together creates a powerful learning environment.
The following annotated bibliography of materials on orienting users to libraries and on instructing them in the use of reference and other resources covers publications from…
Abstract
The following annotated bibliography of materials on orienting users to libraries and on instructing them in the use of reference and other resources covers publications from 1981. A few items from 1980 have been included because information about them was not available in time for the 1980 listing. A few items have not been annotated because the compiler was unable to secure copies of these items.
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.
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The Jurassic Park film franchise offers a complex portrayal of gender issues within a long-running science fiction action series, although not one without problematic moments…
Abstract
The Jurassic Park film franchise offers a complex portrayal of gender issues within a long-running science fiction action series, although not one without problematic moments. This chapter examines selected examples from the series to explore this complex picture. These include moments in the series that display female characters such as Ellie Sattler, Sarah Harding and Claire Dearing with power and agency and the top of their respective professions, noting that Jurassic Park is unusual among science fiction films for its presentation of such accomplished female characters. The chapter also addresses the sexualisation of the character Ian Malcolm and the role of the more typical ‘action star’ from later films, Owen Grady. Finally, it considers the question of sex-selection for the non-human characters, namely the dinosaurs, as significant plot points advance upon the premise that the entire dinosaur population in the series consists of non-breeding females, a fact that is later shown to be untrue. The chapter addresses each of these examples through key issues relating to the production, presentation, and violation of the human and non-human living body across the full Jurassic Park series.
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Anne-marie Greene, Heather Connolly and Deborah Dean
This paper contributes to the broad aim of this special issue, reflecting on the relevance of the writing of Alan Fox to the contemporary industrial relations field. It offers an…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper contributes to the broad aim of this special issue, reflecting on the relevance of the writing of Alan Fox to the contemporary industrial relations field. It offers an original reflection from a feminist perspective on Fox’s classic insights around frames of reference.
Design/methodology/approach
We concentrate on Beyond Contract, Work, Power and Trust Relations (1974a) and Man Mismanagement (1974b, 1985) as the texts setting out Fox’s influential frames of reference theory, before moving on to subsequent literature in the field making use of Fox’s frames. In undertaking this review from a feminist perspective, we specifically look at the extent to which work considers standpoint, gender relations and political engagement. We draw further on wider feminist scholarship within industrial relations, critical race theory and intersectionality perspectives.
Findings
Despite the concept of inequality forming the core of Fox’s analyses, there is a lack of attention to gender or to other diversity strands in his work and, notwithstanding the weight of feminist scholarship within the industrial relations field since, this neglect has been carried forward into subsequent use of Fox’s work. We argue there is space for the frames to be interpreted and used in ways that leave space for attention to feminist concerns and call on academics to approach their use of Fox from a more critically-informed perspective.
Research limitations/implications
The paper’s argument has implications for the field of industrial relations in terms of conceptual understanding and methodological approaches. With space, it would have been useful to apply our revised understanding of Fox’s key concepts to empirical cases.
Practical implications
Greater clarity in what constitutes “unitary” and “pluralist” perspectives and categories will help employment relations actors.
Originality/value
We present a novel feminist re-framing of Fox’s work, providing new understandings of the strengths, weaknesses and applicability of the frames of reference within contemporary industrial relations research and practice. We advocate for methodological and scholarly approaches which advance theoretical and empirical justice in the field, moving beyond gender to draw on critical race theory and intersectionality frameworks.
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The Duke of Edinburgh in his preface to this book says “Alan Cobham … took part in the most radical and far‐reaching engineering revolution that the world has ever seen …” and if…
Abstract
The Duke of Edinburgh in his preface to this book says “Alan Cobham … took part in the most radical and far‐reaching engineering revolution that the world has ever seen …” and if that is the only reason for bringing it to the attention of the readers of AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING, it is a good and valid reason for doing so. But it is more than that: this is a book that must take its place in aviation history. Although I actually witnessed Alan Cobham's touchdown on the Thames in 1926 and was very much aware of his activities with the National Aviation Day Campaign from 1931 to 1935, I was not aware how he so greatly influenced the growth of civil aviation and it was not until I read some opinions from Sir Robert Hardingham, to whom I wrote asking for his commentary on the book and Sir Alan, that I appreciated his attitude towards work especially, and that he had such a meteoric career.