Caroline Millman, Dan Rigby, Davey Jones and Gareth Edwards-Jones
Food poisoning attributable to the home generates a large disease burden, yet is an unregulated and largely unobserved domain. Investigating food safety awareness and routine…
Abstract
Purpose
Food poisoning attributable to the home generates a large disease burden, yet is an unregulated and largely unobserved domain. Investigating food safety awareness and routine practices is fraught with difficulties. The purpose of this paper is to develop and apply a new survey tool to elicit awareness of food hazards. Data generated by the approach are analysed to investigate the impact of oberservable heterogeneity on food safety awareness.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors develop a novel Watch-and-Click survey tool to assess the level of awareness of a set of hazardous food safety behaviours in the domestic kitchen. Participants respond to video footage stimulus, in which food hazards occur, via mouse clicks/screen taps. This real-time response data is analysed via estimation of count and logit models to investigate how hazard identification patterns vary over observable characteristics.
Findings
User feedback regarding the Watch-and-Click tool approach is extremely positive. Substantive results include significantly higher hazard awareness among the under 60s. People who thought they knew more than the average person did indeed score higher but people with food safety training/experience did not. Vegetarians were less likely to identify four of the five cross-contamination hazards they observed.
Originality/value
A new and engaging survey tool to elicit hazard awareness with real-time scores and feedback is developed, with high levels of user engagement and stakeholder interest. The approach may be applied to elicit hazard awareness in a wide range of contexts including education, training and research.
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If an oracle could predict the next forty years with perfect accuracy, what would you do with the information? As the pace of change in the business environment continues to…
Abstract
If an oracle could predict the next forty years with perfect accuracy, what would you do with the information? As the pace of change in the business environment continues to accelerate, confidence in our ability to forecast the future in which we will be operating seems to have gone the way of the fintailed cars and poodle skirts of the '50s.
The author views the problem of managing a classification, such as the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC), as an example of the broader class of problems known in the system…
Abstract
The author views the problem of managing a classification, such as the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC), as an example of the broader class of problems known in the system analysis and data processing field as ‘file management’. The characteristics of file management are listed and related specifically to the UDC. The uses of data processing equipment for the creation, maintenance, manipulation, and display of files are discussed. The development of a prototype file management system for the UDC is reviewed.
RECENT press comment to the effect that radiant plaque heating in aircraft hangars is “unsuitable since people working on top of the wings would bake, whereas those working…
Abstract
RECENT press comment to the effect that radiant plaque heating in aircraft hangars is “unsuitable since people working on top of the wings would bake, whereas those working underneath the wings would be cold” is not borne out at the new Dan Air main hangar at London Gatwick Airport. In what is thought to be the first radiant plaque heating installation in a U.K. aircraft hangar, a Schwank system has just completed its first full year in operation with flying colours.
Preventing and tackling bullying effectively are important agenda for schools to safeguard all children’s well-being, engagement and sense of belongingness. Children perceived to…
Abstract
Preventing and tackling bullying effectively are important agenda for schools to safeguard all children’s well-being, engagement and sense of belongingness. Children perceived to be different from their peers tend to have a higher risk of being bullied at school, in particular, children with disabilities. It can be challenging for teachers to stop bullying that targets children with disabilities. This chapter considers bullying as a barrier to ensuring inclusive and quality education for everyone. It draws on findings from an ethnographic study concerning the status of inclusion of children identified as having learning difficulties in mainstream schools in China, by listening to what children and teachers have to say (Wang, 2016). The study found that the child participants were subject to forms of bullying. They found it useful to gain support from others when bullying happened, and they showed empathy towards peers’ well-being. The teacher participants reflected on the dilemmas and challenges of dealing with bullying and were keen to share experiences about what they found helpful in addressing the issue. The chapter discusses how insights about bullying learned from children and teachers can be used to inform the enactment of inclusive pedagogy. It is concluded that an inclusive pedagogical response that recognizes every child’s voice is necessary for tackling bullying and co-creating an inclusive environment.
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Here's a three‐part blueprint for building processes for innovation—disruptive innovation—into your organization.
This is the knowledge age and, to put it in Peter Drucker's language, knowledge workers and their knowledge are a vital component of this economy. Yet, so little is really known…
Abstract
Purpose
This is the knowledge age and, to put it in Peter Drucker's language, knowledge workers and their knowledge are a vital component of this economy. Yet, so little is really known about these workers. New research is needed to better understand the issues surrounding the recruitment, productivity, deployment, and retention of these workers. This research aims to address this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted through a 35‐part questionnaire administered in mid‐2008 to 125 business and government executives/professionals located in North America, Europe, and South America.
Findings
The research delineates two major work groups by age: 25 years old; and 26‐40 years old. The top two preference findings for 25‐year olds include: recruitment – flexi‐work and cultural diversity; retention – education/training and communities and networks; valued skills – team/collaboration and specialized technical; and technologies – collaboration tools and e‐mail, search, portals. The top two preference findings for 26‐40‐year olds include: recruitment – flexi‐work and job security; retention – communities and networks and documentation; valued skills – project management and strategic thinking; and technologies – collaboration tools and e‐mail, search, portals. Finally, measuring performance improvement metrics for these workers were: improved quality of output, task execution speed, and high‐impact innovation (as opposed to cost reduction and work elimination); innovation (25 years); and superior decision‐making/risk assessment capabilities (26‐40 years)
Originality/value
This field research provides a management framework for helping organizational leadership to make strategic decisions on how to build a more competitive and attractive workplace over the next ten years.
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Richard Wagner and Robert A. Paton
This paper aims to explore to what extent senior executives, particularly within the German machinery and equipment small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), gather and apply…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore to what extent senior executives, particularly within the German machinery and equipment small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), gather and apply knowledge pertaining strategic management (SM) tools. Furthermore, the study aims to provide research evidence as to whether or not the companies derive any performance enhancing benefit from the appliance of said with the knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
The research relied on a self-administered questionnaire mailed or posted to the entire population of about 6,000 enterprises. The resulting data were analyzed with the statistical package for social science (SPSS) statistical software package.
Findings
Executives within the sector, especially those with a predominantly engineering background, lack both knowledge and understanding of SM in general and strategic tool-kits in particular. Interestingly, educational background, in association with toolkit usage, appears to enhance organizational performance.
Research limitations/implications
The German educational system, in conjunction with the associated professional development infrastructures, may impact the generalizability of the research findings.
Practical implications
The results from this study can be used for lobbying policy-makers and shapers, e.g. government, higher education, industry and professional bodies, to improve and expand engineering management education so that practitioners have the knowledge of and competency in SM.
Originality/value
The study provides an insight look of how executives in one of Germany’s most successful industries deal with the knowledge and application of SM tools and their impact on performance. Extant research has not dealt with Germany or this sector in relation to the appliance of strategy-related knowledge and performance.