Aslib's third conference on business records will be held on Thursday nth May in the Connaught Rooms, Great Queen Street, London, WC2. The special purpose of this conference is to…
Abstract
Aslib's third conference on business records will be held on Thursday nth May in the Connaught Rooms, Great Queen Street, London, WC2. The special purpose of this conference is to stimulate active interest in the importance of correspondence as a basic source of information. There is evidence that control of correspondence is still one of the major administrative difficulties in organizations of all types. The programme, which has been planned by representatives of Aslib, the British Institute of Management, the Institute of Office Management, the Chartered Institute of Secretaries, and H.M. Treasury (O & M Division), will fall into four parts: i, an introductory paper discussing the subject from the administrative point of view; ii, a survey of procedures, based on a questionnaire recently sent to a representative selection of Aslib members; iii, a paper on training personnel for business records work; and iv, a summary of the proceedings with special reference to the problem of who should control correspondence records. The Chairman will be Miss Barbara Kyle, Assistant Director, National Book League, and among the speakers there will be Dr C. H. Thompson, Records Officer, National Coal Board; Mr Wilfred Ashworth, Librarian and Information Officer, British Nylon Spinners Ltd; and Mr L. H. Bunker, H.M. Treasury (O & M Division).
In order to compile and present to this conference a factual survey describing the existing procedures for control of current business records, especially‐correspondence, a…
Abstract
In order to compile and present to this conference a factual survey describing the existing procedures for control of current business records, especially‐correspondence, a questionnaire on the subject was drawn up by a working party and sent out to 135 organizations, including industrial and commercial establishments, Government departments, research associations and institutions, and local government offices. The questionnaire was designed to elicit information concerning the volume of incoming correspondence, the methods used for control and filing, and the kind of staff employed in handling it.
This series of annual reviews of the literature of special librarianship, which now reaches its fifth year, has been designed to help those most in need of the body of…
Abstract
This series of annual reviews of the literature of special librarianship, which now reaches its fifth year, has been designed to help those most in need of the body of professional experience contained in the literature. Those special librarians or information officers with little or no professional training, who work in small departments far away from more experienced colleagues, have only the recorded knowledge in the literature to help them, but, because of lack of experience, they are often unable to sift from the mass of articles of varying value and character which crowd the pages of the professional journals the comparatively few items likely to be of practical use to them. For their benefit we present a selection of those papers really likely to give them solid help, leaving aside all purely theoretical and polemical articles, however important, and all literature on large libraries, unless they are likely to have applications in smaller ones. To these we add a selection of reference books likely to be of professional use to anyone in information work, including a number which he may wish to know about, even though he does not have them in his own library. The list is not restricted to work published in 1956, but is intended rather to be representative of items received in British libraries during that year. With the growing volume of library literature, the choice of a hundred or so items is bound to be in some respects a personal one, with which many may disagree, especially over the omissions, but it is hoped that all the items included will be of positive value.
The Delta punched card is of the Batten‐Cordonnier type which in American publications is called ‘Peek‐a‐Boo’. This card is a simple device for the analysis of the contents of a…
Abstract
The Delta punched card is of the Batten‐Cordonnier type which in American publications is called ‘Peek‐a‐Boo’. This card is a simple device for the analysis of the contents of a growing collection of scientific literature covering a special well‐defined area of research. It is recommended in cases where a scientific research worker, or a small group of workers, needs a thorough analysis of the relevant subject from several independent aspects at one time. Further possible applications of this card are the analysis of a collection of research data, the analysis of statistical data, or of material in archives.
British business schools The British Business Schools appeal has exceeded its original £3m target by some £1½m. Announcing this at a recent press conference, Lord Nelson of…
Abstract
British business schools The British Business Schools appeal has exceeded its original £3m target by some £1½m. Announcing this at a recent press conference, Lord Nelson of Stafford, Chairman of the Appeal Committee of the Foundation for Management Education, said that £4,600,000 has been subscribed in four months by British industry and commerce for the two schools. The appeal launched in June achieved its minimum target of £3m by September in what is believed to be a record time for such a broadly based appeal. He hoped that the final figures would raise the total to £5m through a large number of smaller but equally vital subscriptions.
The free flow of information: Unesco's programme and methods. Unesco Chronicle, vol. 2, no. 3, March, 1956, pp. 80–85. [It is one of the aims written into the constitution of…
Abstract
The free flow of information: Unesco's programme and methods. Unesco Chronicle, vol. 2, no. 3, March, 1956, pp. 80–85. [It is one of the aims written into the constitution of Unesco that it shall strive to promote the free flow of information, and it has used various methods to bring this about. It has itself sponsored international agreements such as the Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Materials. Where full‐scale agreements are not possible it makes recommendations to members on desirable legislation, or sponsors administrative arrangements which do not have the binding force of agreements. It also works through its members to support suitable motions proposed by other bodies such as the International Telecommunications Union and the Universal Postal Union. It also publishes studies such as Trade barriers to knowledge which help to promote its plans. These methods have proved successful and it is proposed to continue them in the future.]
Tidiness is a cardinal virtue to planners, and the planners of this conference no doubt saw my part as akin to that of a judge—neatly summing up with complete impartiality, yet…
Abstract
Tidiness is a cardinal virtue to planners, and the planners of this conference no doubt saw my part as akin to that of a judge—neatly summing up with complete impartiality, yet somehow still contriving to give strong direction to the jury.
In spite of its sub‐title, Heading and Canons is not so much a self‐contained treatise as a new instalment in the author's continuous exposition of his thought about cataloguing…
Abstract
In spite of its sub‐title, Heading and Canons is not so much a self‐contained treatise as a new instalment in the author's continuous exposition of his thought about cataloguing. Its main purpose is to examine, in the light of certain general principles, the rules for headings of author and title entries given in Cutter's Rules for a dictionary catalogue, the Prussian Instructions, the Vatican Rules, the ALA cataloging rules, and Ranganathan's own Classified catalogue code. But it incorporates also a fresh statement of the ‘canons of cataloguing’, first enumerated in his Theory of library catalogue (1938); a general discussion of cataloguing terminology; a summary of a pioneer study (undertaken for UNESCO) of Indian and other Asian names; and a demand—which will have the heartfelt sympathy of all cataloguers—for the standardization of the information given on title‐pages. Each section—and particularly the ingenious and suggestive treatment of the problem of Asian names—would justify a separate review. The book will be considered here as a contribution to the current re‐examination of cataloguing rules.
David H. Howard and Yu-Chu Shen
Purpose – Policymakers hope that comparative effectiveness research will identify examples of widely used therapies that are no better than less expensive alternatives and…
Abstract
Purpose – Policymakers hope that comparative effectiveness research will identify examples of widely used therapies that are no better than less expensive alternatives and, consequently, reduce health care spending. Comparative effectiveness research is unlikely to reduce spending if physicians are quick to adopt effective treatments but slow to abandon ineffective ones.
Methodology/approach – We present a theoretical model that shows how physicians will adopt new treatments in response to positive evidence more readily than they abandon existing treatments in response to negative evidence if the marginal costs of production decline post-adoption. We report trends in the use of two common procedures, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for patients with stable angina and routine episiotomy in vaginal childbirth, where comparative effectiveness research studies have failed to find evidence of a benefit.
Findings – Use of PCI and episiotomy have declined over time but are still excessive based on the standards implied by comparative effectiveness research.
Practical implications (if applicable) – The findings suggest that comparative effectiveness research has the potential to reduce costs but additional efforts are necessary to fully realize savings from abandonment.
Originality/value of chapter – There is a large literature on technological adoption in health care, but few studies address technological abandonment. Understanding abandonment is important for efforts to decrease health care costs by reducing use of ineffective but costly treatments.
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Tamara Apostolou, Ioannis N. Lagoudis and Ioannis N. Theotokas
This paper aims to identify the interplay of standard Capesize optimal speeds for time charter equivalent (TCE) maximization in the Australia–China iron ore route and the optimal…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the interplay of standard Capesize optimal speeds for time charter equivalent (TCE) maximization in the Australia–China iron ore route and the optimal speeds as an operational tool for compliance with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) carbon intensity indicator (CII).
Design/methodology/approach
The TCE at different speeds have been calculated for four standard Capesize specifications: (1) standard Capesize with ecoelectronic engine; (2) standard Capesize with non-eco engine (3) standard Capesize vessel with an eco-electronic engine fitted with scrubber and (4) standard Capesize with non-eco engine and no scrubber fitted.
Findings
Calculations imply that in a highly inflationary bunker price context, the dollar per ton freight rates equilibrates at levels that may push optimal speeds below the speeds required for minimum CII compliance (C Rating) in the Australia–China trade. The highest deviation of optimal speeds from those required for minimum CII compliance is observed for non-eco standard Capesize vessels without scrubbers. Increased non-eco Capesize deployment would see optimal speeds structurally lower at levels that could offer CII ratings improvements.
Originality/value
While most of the studies have covered the use of speed as a tool to improve efficiency and emissions in the maritime sector, few have been identified in the literature to have examined the interplay between the commercial and operational performance in the dry bulk sector stemming from the freight market equilibrium. The originality of this paper lies in examining the above relation and the resulting optimal speed selection in the Capesize sector against mandatory environmental targets.