Should the physical distribution industry pay for improvements to the local environment? Just when the Dykes Act seemed to be dead, a High Court decision last December dismissed…
Abstract
Should the physical distribution industry pay for improvements to the local environment? Just when the Dykes Act seemed to be dead, a High Court decision last December dismissed an appeal against Berkshire CC's order banning heavy lorries without permits on amenity grounds from a 40sq mile area to the east, south and west of Windsor. Whether other county councils will follow suit probably depends on the outcome of a Court of Appeal hearing later this year.
The last few years have seen the emergence of Warrington as a major new centre for road‐based distribution. At the crossover of the M6, M62 and M56 the new town development…
Abstract
The last few years have seen the emergence of Warrington as a major new centre for road‐based distribution. At the crossover of the M6, M62 and M56 the new town development corporation has marked out physical distribution as one of four prime marketing areas. Safeway and Woolworth are among the big names which have already located centres in Warrington, and the development corporation expects more to follow.
ON April 23rd this year, when all countries in the world will be celebrating the Quater‐centenary of Shakespeare's birthday, the Shakespeare Memorial Library in Birmingham will…
Abstract
ON April 23rd this year, when all countries in the world will be celebrating the Quater‐centenary of Shakespeare's birthday, the Shakespeare Memorial Library in Birmingham will have attained a majority of one hundred years. Although founded in 1864 the scope of the library was first envisaged by George Dawson, President of the local Shakespeare club in a letter to Aris's Birmingham Gazette of 1861.
A reorganisation and investment programme for the UK Region of the Berger Group (Berger Jenson & Nicholson) has now been completed, under the Group chief executive, Mr. T. B…
A system which depends on a sequence of slow extensions and developments instead of on the sudden application of a thought‐out and comprehensive code is liable to present…
Abstract
A system which depends on a sequence of slow extensions and developments instead of on the sudden application of a thought‐out and comprehensive code is liable to present surprising lacunæ. Such a system we see in our laws and enactments relating to public health, and one of the most obvious of the lacunæ is in regard to the protection of certain of our food supplies from bacterial pollution. In some directions the safeguards are very efficient, in others they are inadequate or non‐existent. Dr. C. E. Goddard has recently drawn attention to the dangers of bacterial contamination from the sale of bread delivered without wrappers, of fruit—grapes, dates, and others—without any protection, while the numerous articles in grocers' shops which attract flies and which are not protected from them form other risks, the same being said of the fingering of meat in butchers shops. As Medical Officer of Health for the Wembley area, which includes the British Empire Exhibition, 1924, Dr. Goddard will be brought in contact with food problems of great importance. While many such sources of food pollution might be cited, it is perhaps easy to exaggerate their significance in respect of public health. They form serious defects in our methods of food distribution, but of considerably greater importance is the absence of adequate control over the preparation and of subsequent care in respect of what may be called “prepared meat foods” and the lack of supervision over those who handle foods destined for consumption by the public.
Zanthippie Macrae and John E. Baur
The personalities of leaders have been shown to impact the culture of their organizations and are also expected to have a more distal impact on the firm’s financial performance…
Abstract
The personalities of leaders have been shown to impact the culture of their organizations and are also expected to have a more distal impact on the firm’s financial performance. However, the authors also expect that leader gender is an important intervening variable such that exhibiting various personality dimensions may result in unique cultural and performance-based outcomes for women and men leaders. Thus, the authors seek to examine first the impact of leader personality on organizational performance, as driven through organizational culture as a mediating mechanism. In doing so, the authors propose the expected impact of specific personality dimensions on certain types of organizational cultures, and those cultures’ subsequent impact on the organization’s performance. The authors then extend to consider the moderating effects of leader gender on the relationship between leader personality and organization. To support their propositions, the authors draw from upper echelons and implicit leadership theories. The authors encourage researchers to consider the proposition within a sample of the largest publicly traded US companies (i.e., Fortune 500) at an important era in history such that for the first time, 10% of these companies are led by women. In doing so, the authors hope to understand the leadership dynamics at the highest echelons of corporate governance and provide actionable insights for companies aiming to optimize their leadership composition and drive sustainable performance.
Details
Keywords
John Shepherd, Larissa Petrillo and Allan Wilson
The purpose of this paper is to summarize a library use study of the central and community branches of a Canadian public library. An exit survey documented the in-branch…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to summarize a library use study of the central and community branches of a Canadian public library. An exit survey documented the in-branch activities of users as a part of a library strategic planning process. Survey results were used in combination with branch statistics, postal code circulation statistics, neighbourhood demographics and other data sources to document the in-library use of the two facilities.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaires were administered to library users 15 years of age or older at the exits of the central and community branches. The survey collected data on their activities and services used during their current visit. Additional sources such as branch-level statistics, furniture tally sheets, photographs, Canada Census data and circulation analysis by patron postal code and lending branch were used during the analysis stage.
Findings
Both branches are heavily used but in different ways. Branch circulation and gate count per square foot of floor space were high relative to other Canadian libraries. Patron visits to the community branch were short in duration, in line with previous public library studies. User visit duration and in-library activities within the main branch somewhat resembled those of the central branch of a larger library system but likely for different reasons.
Research limitations/implications
The study was exploratory. Data were collected during two coinciding days of library operation, a Thursday and a Saturday, and may not be representative of the underlying population. The study was limited in scope as it was a community service project for undergraduate university students.
Practical implications
Branch library use surveys, in combination with library statistics and demographics, can provide useful insights concerning in-library patron behaviour when the use of ethnographic techniques is not feasible.
Originality/value
The study explored differences and similarities in user behaviour in two types of library facilities, a central and a community branch. Few published studies make such a direct comparison. The study explored the perceived benefits received by patrons from public library use and incorporated branch statistics, circulation analysis and Census data.