THE aviation and aerospace industry has always been characterised by highly complex, even high risk undertakings. The outcome of these undertakings, or projects, is dependent on…
Abstract
THE aviation and aerospace industry has always been characterised by highly complex, even high risk undertakings. The outcome of these undertakings, or projects, is dependent on the availability of money, manpower, materials and time. Predicting the way in which these various factors interact requires powerful management tools and, for many years, the aircraft engineering and aerospace industry has used computerised planning and control systems. The most profusely used software tool is Artemis which accounts for 40% of the project management software systems in use throughout the world. Artemis was developed and marketed by Metier Management Systems, a former Lockheed company. The company is now a division of Lucas Industries plc and trades as Lucas Management Systems. Lucas is the first to point out, however, that effective project management does not end with acquisition of an appropriate software tool. Equally important is creating the right organisational structure in which project managers and all those participating in a project can perform most effectively. This is why Lucas has employed Dennis Archibald, not to sell project management systems but to educate all management levels in the discipline and methods of project management. In this article Dennis Archibald, who first encountered project management techniques as an RAF officer in the early 1970's, explains the importance of understanding project management methodologies, irrespective of the software tools which may be either in use or under consideration.
IT is sale to say that in no branch of applied science have the difficulties been greater or the process of development more rapid than in aeronautics. By far the largest factor…
Abstract
IT is sale to say that in no branch of applied science have the difficulties been greater or the process of development more rapid than in aeronautics. By far the largest factor in the triumph of the aeroplane has been the improved internal combustion engine, a class of prime mover which, generating a maximum of power for a minimum of weight from concentrated fuel, is to‐day such an outstanding engineering achievement as to arouse one's curiosity regarding its origin and development.
Manoj A. Thomas, Ramandeep Kaur Sandhu, António Oliveira and Tiago Oliveira
This research aims to gain a holistic understanding of how video conferencing (VC) apps' media characteristics influence individuals' perceptions of VC apps and, ultimately, their…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to gain a holistic understanding of how video conferencing (VC) apps' media characteristics influence individuals' perceptions of VC apps and, ultimately, their use and continued use in professional settings.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual research model is developed by integrating constructs from media synchronicity theory (MST), social presence theory and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model, as well as ubiquity, technicality and perceived fees. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to empirically test the conceptual model using data collected from 252 working professionals from the European Union.
Findings
The results reveal that while performance expectancy (PE) and facilitating conditions (FC) are fundamental to VC app use, these factors alone do not explain the use and continuing use of VC apps in the professional context. Media characteristics that include synchronicity, social presence, and ubiquity are equally crucial to professionals using VC apps. It also confirms the moderating effect of convergence on the relationship between synchronicity and PE and the moderating effect of technicality and perceived fees on the relationship between ubiquity and FC.
Originality/value
For researchers, the study offers insights into the extent to which technological and socially derived characteristics of VC apps influence the routine tasks undertaken by professionals in virtual work settings. For practitioners, recommendations pivotal to the use of VC apps are presented to promote higher acceptance and improved well-being of the professional workforce.
Details
Keywords
Mary Isabelle Young, Lucy Joe, Jennifer Lamoureux, Laura Marshall, Sister Dorothy Moore, Jerri-Lynn Orr, Brenda Mary Parisian, Khea Paul, Florence Paynter and Janice Huber
Our Mi’kmaq and Anishinabe Elders, Sister Dorothy and Florence, remind us of the centrality of family in our lives and who we are becoming. When children are taken away from their…
Abstract
Our Mi’kmaq and Anishinabe Elders, Sister Dorothy and Florence, remind us of the centrality of family in our lives and who we are becoming. When children are taken away from their families and familial contexts the suffering endured by the children, parents, family members, and community is unbearable. This removal of Aboriginal children from families, communities, and the places they knew was unnecessary. Aboriginal people have always known what they want for their children: “We all agree that respect is one of the foundations of what defines our values of our people.” This teaching of respect given to us by the Elders has sustained us in the past and in the present. These teachings will continue to sustain us into the future. The stories of our parents have sustained us too. When our mothers and fathers urged us to not lose our languages they were reminding us of who we are and where we come from. In this way they were giving us a legacy of being proud of our language, of our traditions, and of our ways of being Aboriginal people. It is as we claim and reconnect with these stories of the Elders and our ancestors that we know ways forward (Archibald, 2008; Cajete, 2001; Restoule, 2000).
Matthew E. Archibald is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Emory University and studies health movements and health care organizations. His book, The…
Abstract
Matthew E. Archibald is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Emory University and studies health movements and health care organizations. His book, The Evolution of Self-Help (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007), uses social movement and organizational theories to examine the sociopolitical and economic conditions promoting this unique form of healthcare delivery in the U.S. His most recent work combines these frameworks with social epidemiology to answer questions about community disadvantage and the provision of substance abuse treatment services.
As we approach the millennium, we find ourselves in a world that places ever greater weight and significance on the outcome of polls, surveys, and market research. The advent of…
Abstract
As we approach the millennium, we find ourselves in a world that places ever greater weight and significance on the outcome of polls, surveys, and market research. The advent of modern polling began with the use of scientific sampling in the mid‐1930s and has progressed vastly beyond the initial techniques and purposes of the early practitioners such as George Gallup, Elmo Roper, and Archibald Crossley. In today's environment, the computer is an integral part of most commercial survey work, as are the efforts by academic and nonprofit enterprises. It should be noted that the distinction between the use of the words “poll” and “survey” is somewhat arbitrary, with the mass media seeming to prefer “polling,” and with academia selecting “survey research.” However, searching online systems will yield differing results, hence this author's inclusion of both terms in the title of this article.
Hanneke Du Preez and Jacqueline Stoman
The purpose of this study is to determine whether the factors once identified through literature and compared to the current situation in South Africa could predict the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine whether the factors once identified through literature and compared to the current situation in South Africa could predict the possibility of a tax revolt in South Africa. South Africans are experiencing frequent increases in taxes on already overburdened taxpayers, corruption, a lack of service delivery by the government and high unemployment rates. South Africa has seen an increased amount of protests relating to taxes, corruption and a lack of basic services.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 12,000 Twitter feeds were collected from 14 February 2017 to 1 March 2017, the period before, during and after the South African National Budget Speech on 22 February 2017. The feeds were analysed using a thematic analysis. The emerging themes were identified as factors present in South Africa that may predict a possible tax revolt.
Findings
The factors found to be present in South Africa are: F1-failure of government to address the imminent collapse, F2-significant number of people with substantial debt, F3-onerous tax systems, including many different types of taxes, F4-high number of unemployed people, F5-education frustration, F6-increase in tax rates on citizens already overburdened by current taxes, F7-poor quality of governors, and performance of the country’s leaders and administration, including fraud and F8-wastefulness.
Originality/value
The value of the study is, first to contribute to the existing academic literature examining the factors that are likely to indicate a tax revolts. Second, the study uses an innovative data source, namely, tweets, to examine the climate for a possible tax revolt in South Africa.
Details
Keywords
At a recent inquest upon the body of a woman who was alleged to have died as the result of taking certain drugs for an improper purpose, one of the witnesses described himself as…
Abstract
At a recent inquest upon the body of a woman who was alleged to have died as the result of taking certain drugs for an improper purpose, one of the witnesses described himself as “an analyst and manufacturing chemist,” but when asked by the coroner what qualifications he had, he replied : “I have no qualifications whatever. What I know I learned from my father, who was a well‐known ‘F.C.S.’” Comment on the “F.C.S.” is needless.