Search results

It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields but who have a common interest in the means by which information may be collected and disseminated to the greatest advantage. Lists of its members have, therefore, a more than ordinary value since they present, in miniature, a cross‐section of institutions and individuals who share this special interest.

FROM 5th to 8th October, 1951, Aslib was fortunate in holding its Annual Conference again at Ashorne Hill, near Leamington Spa, and our thanks are due for the third time to Colonel and Mrs. J. H. Alexander and their staff for the excellence of the catering and domestic arrangements. The weather also co‐operated and sunshine displayed all the autumn beauties of the garden and countryside.

The organizing and carrying through of a works visit is a practical exercise in the presentation of technical information. The first rule should be to attract and then maintain the visitors' interest. This involves estimating the background and objectives of the visitors, and directing the visit accordingly. For most visits, the manner and matter must be simplified, only a relatively few or the important points should be made.

The Newcastle upon Tyne conference on 7th December, 1948, was held under the auspices of the Northern Branch of Aslib, but was organized largely by a local committee under the chairmanship of Mr. E. Austin Hinton, City Librarian, Newcastle upon Tyne, and with the help of Mr. M. G. Cahill‐Byrne, of Messrs. Vickers‐Armstrongs, Ltd., who acted as Hon. Secretary. Chairman of the conference was Mr. R. Trevor Jenkins, Technical Manager of Messrs. Vickers‐Armstrongs, Ltd., and the opening ceremony was performed by the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, Alderman T. McCutcheon, who subsequently entertained many of the delegates to luncheon at the Mansion House. Meetings were held in the lecture hall of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, and the Institute kindly provided tea in their library. Space was also given for a small exhibition of Aslib publications and of other reference literature likely to be of assistance to librarians in industrial concerns. The conference was on the general theme of the value of an organized information service to industry and was designed to interest non‐members of Aslib, the last three forming a Symposium on Information Service. The five papers presented at the conference are printed on pp. 51–80. At the close of the meeting Mr. R. Brightman, Chairman of the Northern Branch, spoke of its work, and Miss E. M. R. Ditmas, Director of Aslib, described the ways in which it could serve the industrial librarian.

This paper aims to clarify emerging aspects and trends of Six Sigma literature over 17 years, from 1992 to 2008.

The literature on Six Sigma from 417 referred journal articles in business and management disciplines, information systems and computer science, engineering, healthcare, etc. were systematically analyzed based on a scheme that consists of four distinct dimensions: publication year and journal, major themes, research type, and application sector (i.e. manufacturing vs service).

A number of key findings emerged: Six Sigma research is growing rapidly, covering various disciplines and domains with a great focus on Six Sigma tools and techniques; empirical research is dominant with more emphasis on case study approach; and the growing gap between manufacturing‐ and service‐focused articles implies the return of Six Sigma to manufacturing as its initial base. Although a large volume of literature is available on Six Sigma, the topic is still under development and offers potential opportunities for further research and applications.

The paper provides both academics and practitioners with a useful framework for pursuing rigorous Six Sigma research through explaining the chronological growth of Six Sigma, challenging themes of Six Sigma research, dominating research types and application areas in Six Sigma, and the major sources of Six Sigma information.

Health professionals play a crucial role in addressing the climate crisis and contributing to sustainable development. However, despite urgent calls from experts and health professions students, tertiary education currently lacks fit-for-purpose planetary health curricula. This study aims to provide a comprehensive, Australia-wide examination of planetary health curricula offered within two health professions: nutrition and dietetics.

This mixed-method study involved two phases. Firstly, content analysis of publicly available unit titles and descriptions to determine the frequency and distribution of relevant curricula. Secondly, content and inductive thematic analysis of relevant learning outcomes, guided by Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy to assess the level of cognitive learning and the subject matter being prioritised.

Examination of 104 degrees offered by 41 Australian universities identified relevant curricula in 71 nutrition degrees (84%) and 18 dietetics degrees (95%). Majority of relevant learning outcomes (n = 137) focus on lower-order cognitive learning, with 11 themes of subject matter identified; planetary health, critiquing the status quo, innovation and disruption, equity, values-based practice and evidence-based practice, (dietary modification, food service in health-care settings, food and nutrition policy, food system drivers and elements of the food supply chain.

This study identified an increase in coverage of planetary health curricula in Australian nutrition and dietetics degrees compared to previous examinations and the need for higher-order learning to adequately equip the future health workforce.

Contemporary literature reveals that, to date, the poultry livestock sector has not received sufficient research attention. This particular industry suffers from unstructured supply chain practices, lack of awareness of the implications of the sustainability concept and failure to recycle poultry wastes. The current research thus attempts to develop an integrated supply chain model in the context of poultry industry in Bangladesh. The study considers both sustainability and supply chain issues in order to incorporate them in the poultry supply chain. By placing the forward and reverse supply chains in a single framework, existing problems can be resolved to gain economic, social and environmental benefits, which will be more sustainable than the present practices.

The theoretical underpinning of this research is ‘sustainability’ and the ‘supply chain processes’ in order to examine possible improvements in the poultry production process along with waste management. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and ‘design science’ methods with the support of system dynamics (SD) and the case study methods. Initially, a mental model is developed followed by the causal loop diagram based on in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and observation techniques. The causal model helps to understand the linkages between the associated variables for each issue. Finally, the causal loop diagram is transformed into a stock and flow (quantitative) model, which is a prerequisite for SD-based simulation modelling. A decision support system (DSS) is then developed to analyse the complex decision-making process along the supply chains.

The findings reveal that integration of the supply chain can bring economic, social and environmental sustainability along with a structured production process. It is also observed that the poultry industry can apply the model outcomes in the real-life practices with minor adjustments. This present research has both theoretical and practical implications. The proposed model’s unique characteristics in mitigating the existing problems are supported by the sustainability and supply chain theories. As for practical implications, the poultry industry in Bangladesh can follow the proposed supply chain structure (as par the research model) and test various policies via simulation prior to its application. Positive outcomes of the simulation study may provide enough confidence to implement the desired changes within the industry and their supply chain networks.

This research examines micro‐enterprises pursuing gradual growth. While very little research has been targeted specifically at the growth of micro‐enterprises, there are a host of possible influencing factors suggested by the rather broader small business literature. Less research has attempted to integrate the factors that influence growth of small firms into some form of model. Those models that were found had a number of shortfalls when it came to understanding the development of micro‐enterprises. A framework has been developed through this research that addresses these shortfalls. First, it has targeted specifically gradual growth micro‐enterprises; secondly, it is rigorously under‐pinned through empirical research; thirdly, it attempts to comprehensively cover the range of factors that influence development; fourthly, it focuses on the complex interaction of factors that may influence development. The research findings and implications are presented in two parts. Part 1 develops an empirically verified framework that explains how growth is influenced by a myriad of interacting factors. This leads to a discussion of the policy implications of the framework. Part 2 is presented in the next edition of the Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development (JSBED) and will explore the managerial implications of the framework. This will provide a diagnostic toolkit to help micro‐enterprise owner‐managers and advisers pursue growth. The paper is derived from research conducted initially for the submission of a PhD thesis at the University of Brighton (Perren, 1996).

The quality of students' relationships with their teachers plays a significant role in their success in school. Social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculums show great promise for supporting student development. However, quality implementation requires that teachers recognize and understand how their behavior and interactions with students impact the development of these skills. The Prosocial Classroom Model proposes that teacher social and emotional competencies (SECs) play a critical role in creating and maintaining a classroom where everyone feels safe, connected, and engaged in learning. In this chapter, we extend the understanding of SEC to include leadership styles as defined by evolutionary motivational systems theory. We argue that a critical dimension of effective SEL instruction and teacher SEC is effective leadership that skillfully applies an understanding of the social and emotional dimensions of classroom interactions that promote motivation, engagement, and learning. Implications for educational theory, policy and practice, and research are discussed.

Interest in employee mindfulness has increased dramatically in recent years, fueled by several important conceptual articles, numerous studies documenting the benefits of mindfulness for employee outcomes, and the adoption of mindfulness-based practices in many Fortune 500 organizations. Despite this growing interest, the vast majority of research on employee mindfulness has taken an intrapersonal focus, failing to appreciate the ways in which mindfulness may enhance work-related relational processes and outcomes. The authors explore possible associations between mindfulness and relationally oriented workplace phenomena, drawing from interdisciplinary scholarship examining mindfulness in romantic relationships, child–parent relationships, patient–healthcare provider relationships, and student–teacher relationships. A framework is proposed that links mindfulness to three distinct relationally oriented processes, which are expected to have downstream effects on work-related relational outcomes. The authors then take the proposed framework and discuss possible extensions to a variety of unique workplace relationships and discuss critical next steps in advancing the relational science of mindfulness.