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Computerised Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) reduces wastage and delivers high quality standards. Previously restricted to large companies, the Halesowen Microcentre software package brings the technique within the range of smaller companies.

The International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP) informs principal preparation in relation to change in schools. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The three-stage ISPP study utilized a mixed-methodological approach. Data were gathered in Kenya, South Africa, and Alberta, Canada utilizing a survey instrument that contained items that focussed on: problematic leadership responsibilities, prior leadership development experiences, and perceived adequacy of leadership preparation experiences.

Leadership preparation in Kenya and South Africa was relatively unstructured, compared to structured university-based leadership preparation in Alberta. The assumption in Kenya and South Africa was that classroom teaching was adequate preparation, while Alberta respondents perceived teaching and leadership as discrete knowledge sets. Content of preparation experiences in Kenya and South Africa was mainly about teaching and learning, while in Alberta it was more about instructional leadership. Kenyan principals felt prepared for the principalship. Alberta principals stated that they were ill prepared to deal with day-to-day responsibilities. Senior South African principals felt they were not prepared for school improvement while younger principals felt they were adequately prepared.

Findings suggest that providers utilize cross-cultural partnerships that incorporate technology-mediated dialogue and action research. Cross-cultural learning should be considered co-learning. Preparation should include partnerships between western institutions and informal groups of principals in settings such as Kenya and South Africa. The study informs policymakers, researchers, and school leaders.

The cross-cultural comparisons in this paper inform understandings of the principalship in relation to organizational change in schools.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the potential benefits of value chain analysis (VCA) improvement projects by evaluating their effectiveness for all chain members.

The study uses an action research approach to extend VCA methodology by implementing an improvement project developed through the VCA process, and the subsequent evaluation of this project using a combination of techniques.

The paper addressed a key research gap around the evaluation of improvement projects and has shown that the implementation of VCA, both as a guiding framework for developing interventions and a basis for evaluating their effectiveness, can provide significant benefits to all industry stakeholders.

The research focussed on evaluating the outcomes of a single project within an industry case study. While the diversity in different industry structures and the range of improvement projects possible makes it difficult to generalise the findings, the methodology and evaluation options make a valuable practical and theoretical contribution.

The case study highlights the advantages of improvement projects guided by VCA and offers a variety of evaluation options for both private and public sector VCA practitioners.

This study is one of the very few to evaluate the implementation of activities identified during the diagnostic phase of an agribusiness VCA.

This introductory chapter provides background information and an organizational structure for the book. The authors begin with a brief history of the research project that undergirds the work presented in each chapter. Drawing from the fields of enology and viticulture, the authors introduce the concepts of terroir, millerandage, and appellations as section headings that help to frame brief descriptions of each chapter. The authors conclude with an invitation for the reader to engage with the authors in a discussion about the contents of the book.

When a study involves human participants, researchers need to ensure their safety and protect their identities. How do potential participants know what they are agreeing to contribute, and how and why the research is being conducted? Informed consent describes the process and agreements that answer such questions. Conventional consent protocols focused on preresearch discussions between the researcher and the potential participant, resulting in a signed document that verified the agreement. In research conducted with, on, or through social media, there are fewer opportunities for conversational explanations of formal documents. Simply posting legalistic documents is ineffective because Internet users typically do not read such materials before verifying agreement. Researchers need to understand communities, contexts, and communication styles of target participants and settings in order to provide information in familiar, user-friendly ways. Based on a review of literature about informed consent, and a study of current practices used by companies that need to verify agreements online, practical research suggestions are offered. Qualitative researchers who want to collect data through active interactions with human participants will find these examples and recommendations of use when designing their studies.

The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the critical areas of work in any long-term strategy to develop integrated occupational therapy services across health and social care for adults who are frail and elderly and living in their local communities. It explores the success that has been experienced in Aneurin Bevan University Health Board over the past eight years or more and proposes “keeping the faith” as a helpful personal strategy in avoiding disillusionment and disengagement in the process when setbacks occur along the way.

The paper is a combination of personal reflection and experience, with reference to the literature and what has been written about others’ professional experiences at bringing services and professional groups together.

Developing integrated occupational therapy services is not easy. However there are several critical factors, which once understood for their role in the overall process, add weight to the “right thing to do” argument. These “critical factors” provide a continued focus for the work when the challenges inherent in developing integrated services are in danger of outweighing the successes and the pressure is strong to revert to the default position of single agency service delivery.

This paper makes an effort to pursue integrated occupational services to serve as an example of wider attempts to pursue collaboration and integration, highlighting the need for remaining doggedly determined on the final objective – better services for people.

Mae’r erthygl hon yn archwilio rhai o’r meysydd gwaith hanfodol mewn unrhyw strategaeth hirdymor i ddatblygu gwasanaethau therapi galwedigaethol integredig ar draws iechyd a gofal cymdeithasol. Mae’n nodi ‘cadw’r ffydd’ fel strategaeth bersonol ddefnyddiol yn osgoi dadrithio a datgysylltu yn y broses pan fydd rhwystrau yn digwydd ar hyd y ffordd. Mae’r papur yn dadlau bod yr hyn yr ydym yn ei wneud a’r buddion i ddefnyddwyr y gwasanaeth pan fyddwn yn gwneud pethau’n iawn gymaint yn well, fel na ddylai cyflenwi unrhyw beth arall fod yn opsiwn. Mae’n cynnig mai integreiddio yw’r peth iawn i’w wneud hyd yn oed pan na ellir meintioli a mesur canlyniadau’n hawdd, oherwydd cymhlethdod y broses dros gyfnodau hir. Er bod y ffocws ar wasanaethau therapi galwedigaethol, diben ychwanegol y papur yw dangos sut y mae gwasanaethau ac asiantaethau eraill yn debygol o wynebu’r un brwydrau ac yn gallu dysgu o’r profiad hwn.

Mae’r papur yn gyfuniad o adlewyrchu a phrofiad personol, wedi ei gyfuno â chymariaethau o’r llenyddiaeth a phrofiadau proffesiynol pobl eraill yn dod â gwasanaethau a grwpiau proffesiynol gyda’i gilydd. Mae’n ystyried y gofyniad i ailddylunio’r gweithlu fel ffactor allweddol a phwysigrwydd cadw’r person/claf/defnyddiwr y gwasanaeth yn ganolog i’r holl ystyriaethau yn ymwneud ag ymarfer, proses a pholisi.

Gellir priodoli’r llwyddiant yn datblygu gwasanaethau therapi galwedigaethol integredig yn ardal Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Aneurin Bevan dros yr 8 mlynedd neu fwy (ac sy’n dal yn waith sy’n mynd rhagddo) i sawl ffactor sydd, unwaith y cânt eu deall am eu rôl yn y broses gyffredinol, yn ychwanegu pwysau at y ddadl ‘y peth iawn i’w wneud’. Mae’r ‘aml’ ffactorau hyn yn rhoi ffocws parhaus i’r gwaith pan fydd yr heriau mewn perygl o wrthbwyso’r llwyddiannau ac mae’r pwysau yn gryf i ddychwelyd i sefyllfa ddiofyn o gyflenwi gwasanaeth gan un asiantaeth.

Mae’r papur hwn yn gwneud ymdrech i fynd ar drywydd gwasanaethau galwedigaethol integredig i wasanaethu fel enghraifft o ymdrechion ehangach i fynd ar drywydd cydweithredu ac integreiddio, gan dynnu sylw at yr angen am weddill ei benderfynu doggedly ar yr amcan terfynol – gwell gwasanaethau i bobl.

The ever‐increasing diversity in family forms has provoked concerns in the UK about the instability of family life in the 21st century and promoted a plethora of policy initiatives aimed at strengthening families and supporting parents. This article explores the changes and continuities in family life and the implications for parenting and family policy. It argues that despite the immense diversity of family relationships, there is an enduring attachment to family ties and commitment. Understanding the inter‐relationships between risk and protective factors and how resilience may be fostered is critical, therefore, to the development of policies that can support families at times of stress.

This chapter presents a cross-cultural comparison across the Commonwealth, namely, Australia, Canada, and Kenya. The three cases explore these indigenous principals’ perceptions of leadership development and how effectively these experiences prepared them to meet the challenges within their complex school communities. The chapter presents a discussion of the historical educational legacies of imperial rule, leadership preparation opportunities that were available to aspiring and novice leaders, the challenges the principals encountered in their leadership role in the school and within their communities, and these leaders’ beliefs and attitudes toward leadership. A final synthesis is presented, which identifies a number of commonalities in leadership approaches across these very different cultural contexts: the school communities were endeavoring to rediscover their cultural history, heritage, and beliefs and were frequently developing positive relationships with elders and others who held, and were willing to pass on, the historical and cultural knowledge and expertise. The leaders themselves held strong beliefs about the importance of cultural identity in order to forge new and contemporary pathways to success for their students. They all had a heightened ethic of care ethos that extended beyond the confines of the school building and office hours. These leaders adopted entrepreneurial leadership approaches to think and act innovatively rather than simply managing schools and were dedicated to promoting educational success for all students within their care. Leadership development implications included the need for formal, informal, and experiential experiences, as well as, for the inclusion of specific knowledge and skills that would enable leaders to effectively and sensitively lead within predominantly indigenous school communities.