Terence J. Wieting, Tim D. Andreadis, John M. Kidd, Wayne Quade, Arthur I. Namenson, Louis F. Libello, Christian D. Schleisiger and Chalmers M. Butler
The behaviours of the electric and magnetic fields inside a conducting cylinder with a single axial aperture are not as well understood as is commonly believed. The experimental…
Abstract
The behaviours of the electric and magnetic fields inside a conducting cylinder with a single axial aperture are not as well understood as is commonly believed. The experimental measurements and computer simulations described in this paper comprise a work in progress. The intention of the work is to use the conducting cylinder with a single axial aperture as a standard test object, in order to demonstrate present capabilities in measuring field strengths inside such a test object and to demonstrate the level of agreement attainable with commonly used computer codes. As the following experimental data will show, current free‐field B‐dot sensors cannot be used for measurements inside cavities, as they significantly perturb the fields they are trying to measure. There is indeed a pressing need to develop such nonperturbing sensors for use inside cavities.
Akzo Coatings plc, the Didcot‐based paints group, which controls Permoglaze, Sandtex and Sikkens Paints has concluded two separate agreements to sell off some of its non‐paints…
Abstract
Akzo Coatings plc, the Didcot‐based paints group, which controls Permoglaze, Sandtex and Sikkens Paints has concluded two separate agreements to sell off some of its non‐paints activities to its senior managers.
Firms across the globe are often directly or indirectly reliant on foreign direct investment, often through the development of a “joint venture”. Moreover, such cash flows sustain…
Abstract
Firms across the globe are often directly or indirectly reliant on foreign direct investment, often through the development of a “joint venture”. Moreover, such cash flows sustain much of a nation’s economic activity. To support the operation of these firms it is becoming accepted that learning about the host culture has a role to play in their betterment. However, there is a lack of understanding of how enjoining cultures might collide in the daily execution of conjoint management practices; and further, how such conflicts may be resolved. Generally, the authors suggest enterprises should become “cultural literate” to improve their understanding of exchanging or brokering knowledge between peers within the firm, or through linking with individuals in other firms. The bulk of the paper concentrates on West‐East differences, questioning how these may affect managers in the multinational enterprises given their espoused concern for an effective exchange of knowledge.
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John Kidd, Frank‐Jürgen Richter and Xue Li
Firms in developed nations have practised supply chain management (SCM) for decades, but we ask here if they will be able to progress well under the modern regime of harder and…
Abstract
Firms in developed nations have practised supply chain management (SCM) for decades, but we ask here if they will be able to progress well under the modern regime of harder and faster e‐just‐in‐time systems. We assume these to be concentrated mainly in Europe and the USA, but with origins having global outreach – their management must concern themselves with explicit and tacit factors embracing the culture and ethics of people having diverse national origins. Essentially, we will discuss the challenges of knowledge management and organisational learning in the SCM systems that embrace firms located in many countries, Western as well as Asian, which have more (or less) permeable organisational boundaries and who must learn to trust each other regardless of their ethic differences.
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The purpose of this paper is to look to new opportunities that may be available to the nations comprising Central Asia. The region has recovered only slowly since the fall of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to look to new opportunities that may be available to the nations comprising Central Asia. The region has recovered only slowly since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on secondary data from reports by the UN, ADB and other NGOs, academic papers and the press, a quasi‐mathematical equation is used to illustrate how infrastructure development is dependant on many factors. From this analysis the importance of the transportation sector for future growth is discerned. Historical detractors are noted and drivers for the future are discussed.
Findings
The paper finds that Central Asia's future growth and prosperity would be based on a robust redevelopment of all its infrastructures but primarily on the implementation of Maglev high speed rail systems to move freight quickly internally and for Eurasian transit.
Practical implications
Well‐integrated transport infrastructures enhance local wellbeing. The interconnectedness and interdependence of globalised economies depend on transport, but other aspects of the total infrastructure local and regional must be integrated to achieve growth. In the case of Central Asia it is seen that an accord between the Presidents is needed to ensure regional cooperation, which will lead to Eurasian cooperation.
Originality/value
The region has been forgotten, to some extent, by the global community, yet it has great potential to become again an important transportation hub between Europe and Asia. The value of the paper is in noting the push of many NGOs towards regional integration, which may be best approached, we suggest, from an initial investment in its transportation infrastructure.
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The paper aims to begin with a brief review of early banking and finance methods, early logistics routes through Europe, and message delivery modes in medieval China, the paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to begin with a brief review of early banking and finance methods, early logistics routes through Europe, and message delivery modes in medieval China, the paper then proposes to move on to a comparative study of modern logistics modes in the European Union and in India – in particular the ports of Le Havre (France) and Mangalore (Karnataka).
Design/methodology/approach
The data are derived from secondary sources, including the local press in India as well as official European Union (EU) documentation.
Findings
Given the cultural and political differences between the EU and India, their logistics and hinterland development are very different in deployment and scope: Le Havre “scores” much more highly than Mangalore and the EU is much more coherently developed than India.
Practical implications
Le Havre, France, and the EU are well placed through their integrated logistics development to merge with the proposed Euro‐Asia‐America “land‐bridge” which initially will be based on a redeveloped Trans‐Siberian rail network; whereas the southern “Silk Road” development, taking in India, is floundering due to many factors inhibiting implementation of this new network.
Originality/value
The paper will be of interest to those who wish to view the development of intercontinental logistics routes, and to grasp the future potential for new trade links between the Pacific and the Atlantic ports.
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It is widely believed that JIT processes are a fundamentalnecessity for a business and, as a consequence, for the product chainalso. Thus JIT should be extended to subcontractors…
Abstract
It is widely believed that JIT processes are a fundamental necessity for a business and, as a consequence, for the product chain also. Thus JIT should be extended to subcontractors. Presents observations gleaned in Japan and South Korea on the issues faced by spring manufacturers in terms of JIT, quality control and other workplace factors. Concludes that the style of management operated by the client firms, especially in Japan, would not be appropriate in the UK. Also, since the psychological characteristics of UK persons are quite unlike those of the Orientals, we should be wary of importing, without modification, the work practices which seem to be acceptable in Japan and South Korea. Proposes that we should play to our strengths and continue to be innovative and individualistic while attempting to modify our management style to be more attentive to the longer term.
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The concept of a single, ‘authoritative text’ for literary works has been recognised for some years as unrealistic, and their polytextual nature accepted as a more authentic basis…
Abstract
The concept of a single, ‘authoritative text’ for literary works has been recognised for some years as unrealistic, and their polytextual nature accepted as a more authentic basis for the study of imaginative literature. At the same time, presentation of scholarly editions in the traditional paper medium continues to privilege one particular text (the ‘copy‐text’), relegating others to subordinate, fragmentary status as footnoted variants. There is, therefore, an inevitable conflict — perceived or not — between the conceptualisation of literary texts and the documentary form they currently take. Hypertext is thus proposed as an alternative medium for the publication and study of scholarly texts, which would provide a more helpful, flexible, and dynamic environment for the advanced study of imaginative literature. The proposition is illustrated by examples from a small‐scale experimental system, based on a seventeenth‐century collection of poetry, and using the Guide hypertext software.
“A rose would smell as sweet by any other name,” but does the name make any difference to the composition of a member of the sausage family? Apparently, it does. In two recent…
Abstract
“A rose would smell as sweet by any other name,” but does the name make any difference to the composition of a member of the sausage family? Apparently, it does. In two recent cases at Hull (see Legal Proceedings, this issue), it was contended that a meat‐burger should contain 80% meat, similar to the recommendation of the Food Standards Committee for canned meat, and it was shown that meat‐burgers in the district had an average meat content complying with this standard—84% in 42 samples. In one case in question, the meat content was 31% and the retailer claimed in defence that when informed by inspectors of the 80% requirement, he decided to call his products just burgers, which left him free to adopt any composition he desired. The comments of the magistrates are not known, except that they considered the case an interesting one and dismissed it!