The system, devised initially to satisfy the needs of our Test Department, sought to locate, in the shortest possible time, vital information from a backlog of about twelve…
Abstract
The system, devised initially to satisfy the needs of our Test Department, sought to locate, in the shortest possible time, vital information from a backlog of about twelve thousand reports, together with current additions. The main object was to reduce the number of technical man‐hours involved in searching for the answers to questions posed by management, other departments and firms. It was also required to avoid the duplication of previous tests and provide any previously found information before the commencement of a new test programme. From experience gained with the reports already indexed, it is apparent that these aims are being fulfilled.
THE catalogue, as a library appliance of importance, has had more attention devoted to it than, perhaps, any other method or factor of librarianship. Its construction, materials…
Abstract
THE catalogue, as a library appliance of importance, has had more attention devoted to it than, perhaps, any other method or factor of librarianship. Its construction, materials, rules for compilation and other aspects have all been considered at great length, and in every conceivable manner, so that little remains for exposition save some points in the policy of the catalogue, and its effects on progress and methods. In the early days of the municipal library movement, when methods were somewhat crude, and hedged round with restrictions of many kinds, the catalogue, even in the primitive form it then assumed, was the only key to the book‐wealth of a library, and as such its value was duly recognized. As time went on, and the vogue of the printed catalogue was consolidated, its importance as an appliance became more and more established, and when the first Newcastle catalogue appeared and received such an unusual amount of journalistic notice, the idea of the printed catalogue as the indispensable library tool was enormously enhanced from that time till quite recently. One undoubted result of this devotion to the catalogue has been to stereotype methods to a great extent, leading in the end to stagnation, and there are places even now where every department of the library is made to revolve round the catalogue. Whether it is altogether wise to subordinate everything in library work to the cult of the catalogue has been questioned by several librarians during the past few years, and it is because there is so much to be said against this policy that the following reflections are submitted.
Zhuang Qian, Charles X. Wang and Haiying Yang
This research aims to empirically investigate the impacts of product and international diversification strategies on firm-level inventory performance.
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to empirically investigate the impacts of product and international diversification strategies on firm-level inventory performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study empirically examines the associations between product and international diversification strategies and inventory performance based on a sample of 64,124 observations across 7,367 US publicly traded firms between 1989 and 2019 from the COMPUSTAT Segment, Fundamental Annual and Fundamental Quarterly data files. We employ both linear and nonlinear regression models to perform our empirical analysis.
Findings
This research provides strong evidence that there exists a U-shaped relationship between unrelated product diversification and inventory level and a partially inverted U-shaped relationship between international diversification and inventory level. We also find a positive impact of related product diversification on inventory level, but there is no significant curvilinear relationship between related product diversification and inventory level.
Practical implications
Our research findings offer important insights into top management’s strategic planning for diversification strategies and operations manager’s inventory control policies to achieve the strategic fit between corporate diversification and inventory management.
Originality/value
Product and international diversification strategies not only play an essential role in the firm’s competitive advantage, but also have a significant influence on operations manager’s inventory decision. This research is among the first to systematically investigate how top management’s related product, unrelated product and international diversification strategies may have complex nonlinear impacts on inventory performance.
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Keywords
Mark Paul Sallos, Alexeis Garcia-Perez, Denise Bedford and Beatrice Orlando
The purpose of this paper is to frame organisational cybersecurity through a strategic lens, as a function of an interplay of pragmatism, inference, holism and adaptation. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to frame organisational cybersecurity through a strategic lens, as a function of an interplay of pragmatism, inference, holism and adaptation. The authors address the hostile epistemic climate for intellectual capital management presented by the dynamics of cybersecurity as a phenomenon. The drivers of this hostility are identified and their implications for research and practice are discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
The philosophical foundations of cybersecurity in its relation with strategy, knowledge and intellectual capital are explored through a review of the literature as a mechanism to contribute to the emerging theoretical underpinnings of the cybersecurity domain.
Findings
This conceptual paper argues that a knowledge-based perspective can serve as the necessary platform for a phenomenon-based view of organisational cybersecurity, given its multi-disciplinary nature.
Research limitations/implications
By recognising the knowledge-related vectors, mechanisms and tendencies at play, a novel perspective on the topic can be developed: cybersecurity as a “knowledge problem”. In order to facilitate such a perspective, the paper proposes an emergent epistemology, rooted in systems thinking and pragmatism.
Practical implications
In practice, the knowledge-problem narrative can underpin the development of new organisational support constructs and systems. These can address the distinctiveness of the strategic challenges that cybersecurity poses for the growing operational reliance on intellectual capital.
Originality/value
The research narrative presents a novel knowledge-based analysis of organisational cybersecurity, with significant implications for both interdisciplinary research in the field, and practice.
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Maria Regina Hechanova, Arsenio S. Alianan, Jr, Rosanne M. Jocson and Angelique P. Villasanta
The purpose of this paper is to examine the outcomes of an online resilience support group during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. Specifically, it described the extent…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the outcomes of an online resilience support group during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. Specifically, it described the extent to which the program improved adaptive coping, non-reactivity, resilience and well-being and decreased stress, depression and anxiety symptoms of participants.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a pretest–posttest design with 53 participants. A majority of participants were female (74%) who participated in the program for 6–8 weeks. Scales measuring adaptive coping, non-reactivity, resilience, well-being, stress, depression and anxiety were administered before and after the completion of the modules.
Findings
Results revealed significant improvements in adaptive coping particularly seeking emotional and instrumental support, active coping, and religious coping. The results also showed significant improvements in nonreactivity, psychological well-being and resilience and decrease in depression symptoms. Effect size estimates indicate medium effect sizes for well-being and nonreactivity with the other outcomes having small effect sizes.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this study is the lack of a randomized control trial design and the lack of control for extraneous variables. Future studies using rigorous and longitudinal designs are recommended. Future studies may also examine program implementation factors such as using homogenous groups.
Practical implications
In most low-income countries, the provision of mental health and psychosocial support during the COVID-19 pandemic has been hampered by the lack of mental health professionals, issues of internet connectivity and a lack of resources and access. Online resilience support groups may provide a means to address these challenges by making mental health support more accessible and available.
Social implications
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused isolation and a means to bridge this is through peer support groups. This may be especially important in collectivist cultures where social relationships serve as recovery capital.
Originality/value
Although there has been a rise in the use of technology, most are in the form of individual or self-help interventions. This paper examines the feasibility of an online structured peer support group that focuses on building resilience skills. It fills a gap in the literature on online peer support groups that may be most relevant for low-income countries with a dearth of mental health specialists.