Zahir Irani, Vlatka Hlupic, Lynne P. Baldwin and Peter E.D. Love
Previous research suggests that developing dynamic models of business processes prior to their radical change could increase the success of BPR projects. Identifies barriers…
Abstract
Previous research suggests that developing dynamic models of business processes prior to their radical change could increase the success of BPR projects. Identifies barriers encountered in existing business processes and presents an overview of business process modelling methods that can be used to identify ways of eliminating these barriers. A case study is used to demonstrate how simulation modelling can be used to effectively re‐engineer manufacturing processes. The developed model is then manipulated, with results being generated to discover the possibilities of increasing the through‐put of the system. The usability of simulation modelling for evaluating alternative business process strategies is then investigated. Guidelines for achieving more widespread use of business process simulation are then proposed.
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Sarmad Alshawi, Zahir Irani and Lynne Baldwin
Introduces the special issue. Focuses first on concepts of knowledge in knowledge management before discussing the importance and role of knowledge in learning and the learning…
Abstract
Introduces the special issue. Focuses first on concepts of knowledge in knowledge management before discussing the importance and role of knowledge in learning and the learning organisation. Discusses the role of knowledge and learning with regard to organisational change and the challenges that this poses with regard to benchmarking. Focuses then on information and communication technologies and to the role that these play in the complexities of business organisational change. Concludes with a discussion of the importance of the human aspects before outlining the contribution of the seven papers which comprise this special issue.
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Sarmad Alshawi, Zahir Irani and Lynne Baldwin
Despite the fact that many companies are increasing their expenditure on information technology (IT) to obtain or even sustain a competitive advantage in their respective…
Abstract
Despite the fact that many companies are increasing their expenditure on information technology (IT) to obtain or even sustain a competitive advantage in their respective marketplaces, many studies show that the benefits from IT systems have been considerably less than expected. Managers are often left with the quandary of how to evaluate investments and realise maximum benefits in IT. Reasons for this difficulty have been suggested in the normative literature centring around the socio‐technical (human and organisational) dimensions associated with IT deployment. The inability of managers to determine the true costs of deploying IT are considered attributable to a lack of knowledge and understanding of IT‐related costs and benefits measurements. This paper discusses from a critical point of view the evaluation of IT/IS investment and best practices in benefits extraction from such investment. The discussion is based on relevant literature and information from ongoing research by the authors involving companies in the construction, pharmaceutical and computer hardware sectors.
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Lynne P. Baldwin, Tillal Eldabi and Ray J. Paul
Most manufacturing processes tend to involve more than one level of detail at the design phase. These often consist of a higher level that represents the building‐blocks of the…
Abstract
Purpose
Most manufacturing processes tend to involve more than one level of detail at the design phase. These often consist of a higher level that represents the building‐blocks of the firm and a lower level that represents a more detailed structure of the process. When designing such processes, this type of structure is difficult to capture without some form of modelling. In such cases simulation can be used to help overcome this problem. This paper presents an investigation of simulation packages.
Design/methodology/approach
These simulation packages were investigated regarding their abilities to model business processes related to manufacturing systems.
Findings
The research findings suggest that no one simulation package currently available can alone offer sufficiently flexible facilities for the variable detailed modelling of manufacturing systems design.
Originality/value
The paper relates to one specific design framework called manufacturing system design (MSD). It defines the higher level of detail as the conceptual modelling level and the lower level as the detailed design level. A four‐step framework is proposed, and it is argued that this may better deal with problems of detail variability.
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Lynne P. Baldwin, Malcolm Clarke, Tillal Eldabi and Russell W. Jones
Information and communication technology (ICT) plays an increasingly important role in delivering healthcare today. Healthcare professionals, including consultants, doctors and…
Abstract
Information and communication technology (ICT) plays an increasingly important role in delivering healthcare today. Healthcare professionals, including consultants, doctors and nurses, are engaged in what is seen as a radical action plan for improving the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. A major focus of this plan is the greater empowerment of the patient, and providing them with more information about their health needs and care. Information and communication technology has the potential to effectively support the complexities involved in the communication that takes place both amongst healthcare workers themselves and between healthcare workers and their patients in both primary and secondary care both in the UK and elsewhere. This paper explores the challenges involved in human interaction and describes how AIDMAN, a clinical information system, allows for richer communication between the patient and those involved in their health.
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Lynne P. Baldwin, Malcolm Clarke and Russell Jones
In order to improve the diagnosis and subsequent care given to patients, health‐care workers involved in the management of their care, as well as the treatment itself, are…
Abstract
In order to improve the diagnosis and subsequent care given to patients, health‐care workers involved in the management of their care, as well as the treatment itself, are increasingly looking at the role that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can play in supporting the complex interactions between patient, doctor or nurse, consultant and medical equipment. Effective communication both amongst health‐care workers and between health‐care workers and their patients in both primary and secondary care is vital; ICTs can play an important role in this. In this paper possible interpretations given to the term “telemedicine” are discussed, and then attention is turned to the challenges involved in human interaction and the role of ICTs. An example of a clinical ICT system (AIDMAN) is used to illustrate how face‐to‐face interaction has usefully been supported by way of a “virtual” consultation, which facilitates remote medical diagnosis and can provide improved case management.
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Imprisonment has the potential to significantly impact mothering (Lockwood, 2017). For some women, imprisonment may present the opportunity to repair and rebuild fractured…
Abstract
Imprisonment has the potential to significantly impact mothering (Lockwood, 2017). For some women, imprisonment may present the opportunity to repair and rebuild fractured relationships with their children; however, for many, being separated from their children is constructed as the most difficult aspect of imprisonment (Crewe, Hulley, & Wright, 2017), with the potential to severely alter, disrupt or even terminate mothering (Lockwood, 2017; 2018). Available research highlights the importance of mothering in relation to women's adjustment to and experiences of imprisonment and upon their rehabilitation, resettlement and potential reunification (Baldwin, 2017; Lockwood, 2017, Lockwood, 2018). However, consistent with prison policy and practice, available research tends to rely on narrow definitions that often construct motherhood in relation to younger children, under the age of 18 (Caddle & Crisp, 1997). Consequently, the stories, experiences and needs of mothers in prison with older adult children often remain unheard.
Focussing on the individual stories of mothers in prison and those who have recently been released from prison, within this chapter, I consider the way in which women story motherhood in relation to older adult children. Presenting three interrelated narratives, ‘Mothering from a distance: stories of missing out on children's transitions to adulthood’; ‘“Motherwork”: stories of participating in mothering adult children’ and ‘“Role reversal”: stories of receiving support from adult children’, I consider the specific challenges and opportunities for mothers in prison with older adult children.
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Melissa Evans, Leanne Lester, Richard Midford, Helen Walker Cahill, David Foxcroft, Robyn Waghorne and Lynne Venning
The consequences of problematic alcohol consumption fall heavily on Australian adolescents, with this population at increased risk of death, serious injury and other harm…
Abstract
Purpose
The consequences of problematic alcohol consumption fall heavily on Australian adolescents, with this population at increased risk of death, serious injury and other harm. Research regarding whether gender, socioeconomic status (SES) or locality play a role in young people’s alcohol consumption and related harm is limited in Australia. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether Victorian students’ patterns of alcohol uptake, consumption and related harm differed between gender, SES and locality.
Design/methodology/approach
The study involved secondary analysis of student data from the Drug Education in Victorian Schools harm minimisation drug education programme, undertaken in 21 Victorian government schools over three years The initial cohort of 1,752 students was followed during Years 8, 9 and 10, when their average age would have, respectively, been 13, 14 and 15 years.
Findings
There were no gender differences in drinking uptake, consumption or harm. Students with low SES were more likely to have consumed a full drink of alcohol and also experienced more alcohol-related harm. Students living in a regional/rural area were more likely to have engaged in high alcohol consumption.
Originality/value
The findings of this study highlighted that different student demographics have an impact on patterns of alcohol consumption, vulnerability and harm. Students with low SES, living in a regional/rural area, are more at risk than students with higher SES living in a fringe metro/major regional or metro area. Future school harm minimisation drug education programmes should consider the needs of students with demographics that make them more susceptible to higher consumption and harm.
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The platform economy reflects the business model of some of the largest and fastest-growing firms in the economy. Platform business models emerge and thrive because of the…
Abstract
The platform economy reflects the business model of some of the largest and fastest-growing firms in the economy. Platform business models emerge and thrive because of the potential profit in taking advantage of transactions cost reductions to connect people for mutual benefit, and this value creation is best understood by thinking about the epistemology of decentralized market processes. Three essential aspects of knowledge are relevant to platform business models: (1) knowledge can be private and diffuse; (2) knowledge can be contextual; and (3) knowledge may not exist outside of the economic process. After defining and analyzing the technology, economic, and institutional aspects of platforms the author defines and applies market epistemology to explore how platforms harness technological and organizational features to create value-enhancing market platforms by exploiting the epistemic benefits of technology-enabled decentralized market processes. The author concludes by using this epistemic framework to propose an electricity distribution platform business model – the retail electricity industry is undergoing a process of technological dynamism, and as a regulated infrastructure industry, evolving into a decentralized market industry is presenting challenges to which this epistemic framework can bring increased understanding.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the range of potential influences on children's food choices, while suggesting that recent restrictions on advertising of some foods may…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the range of potential influences on children's food choices, while suggesting that recent restrictions on advertising of some foods may not be as effective as expected. It aims to use home‐delivered food promotional materials to illustrate the types of promotional activity that are not covered by recent regulatory actions.
Design/methodology/approach
All food promotional leaflets and flyers delivered to households over a four‐month period were analysed in terms of their overall content and whether healthy options were included in the content or in special promotional offers.
Findings
The study finds that 90 per cent of the material featured foods whose advertising would potentially be restricted if it were placed in media for which regulations were tightened in early 2007. Few included healthy options in menus – and none offered these as part of their special promotions.
Research limitations/implications
Material was collected from only one area of a large English city; however it is reasonable to assume that the type of material received is broadly representative of the material likely to be distributed across the UK and possibly other countries as well.
Practical implications
Increased restriction of advertising of some types of food products does not address myriad influences on children's food choices. If the restrictions fail to deliver the expected benefits, further restrictions are likely to follow, but concentrating on one potential factor in isolation while failing to consider the wide range of influences on food choices means that even tighter restrictions are unlikely to achieve the intended results. Policy makers should consider the wider environmental factors that may influence food choices, and the development of health promotion strategies that reflect a more holistic and integrated approach than is currently occurring.
Originality/value
There are few studies of the potential impact of factors other than advertising. The findings of this study suggest that lobbyists, policy makers and advertisers alike should take a more holistic view of potential influences on dietary choice.