Stephen O’Reilly, Maeve Duffy, Terence O’Donnell, Paul McCloskey and Seán Cian Ó Mathúna
This paper will focus on the work which was carried out under the Brite‐EuRAM funded project, COMPRISE (BE 96‐3371), the objective of which was to develop new materials and…
Abstract
This paper will focus on the work which was carried out under the Brite‐EuRAM funded project, COMPRISE (BE 96‐3371), the objective of which was to develop new materials and manufacturing processes to embed passive components (resistors, inductors, capacitors) within printed wiring structures fabricated from laminate materials. For the realisation of integrated resistors, a commercially available planar resistor material is incorporated in different test structures. The technology consists of a copper foil of standard thickness on which a resistive layer is deposited by means of electroless plating. For the realisation of capacitors in multi‐layered PCB structures, significant progress was made in the development and fabrication of very thin laminates. Higher dielectric constants of these laminate materials enable the increase of the capacitance per unit area. For inductors, both aircore (no magnetic material) and magnetic core components have been investigated.
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Gautam Gulati, Kizito Otuokpaikhian, Maeve Crowley, Vishnu Pradeep, David Meagher and Colum P. Dunne
The purpose of this paper is to study the demographic, clinical characteristics and outcomes for those prisoners referred to secondary mental healthcare in a regional Irish prison…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the demographic, clinical characteristics and outcomes for those prisoners referred to secondary mental healthcare in a regional Irish prison and the proportion of individuals diverted subsequently from prison to psychiatric settings.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a retrospective review of 130 successive psychiatric assessment case records at a regional mixed gender prison serving six southern Irish counties. The authors analysed demographics, clinical characteristics and outcomes. Where diversion out of prison was undertaken, Dangerousness, Understanding, Recovery and Urgency Manual (DUNDRUM) scores were retrospectively completed to assess security need.
Findings
In total, 8.6 per cent of all committals from liberty were referred by a general practitioner and 8.1 per cent subsequently assessed by the visiting psychiatrist. Predominantly, these were young males charged with a violent offence. In all, 42.2 per cent of those assessed by secondary care were diagnosed with a substance misuse disorder and 21.1 per cent with a personality disorder. In total, 20.3 per cent suffered from a psychotic disorder and 10.6 per cent with an affective disorder. Of those seen by psychiatric services, 51.2 per cent required psychotropic medication, 29.2 per cent required psychological input and 59.3 per cent required addiction counselling. In all, 10.6 per cent of those assessed were diverted from prison, the majority to approved centres. Mean DUNDRUM-1 scores suggested that those referred to high and medium secure hospitals were appropriately placed, whereas those diverted to open wards would have benefited from a low secure/intensive care setting.
Originality/value
The multifaceted need set of those referred strengthens the argument for the provision of multidisciplinary mental healthcare into prisons. The analysis of security needs for those diverted from prisons supports the need for Intensive Care Regional Units in Ireland.
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A recent biography claims that Georges Simenon, of Maigret fame, knew more than 1200 prostitutes. A recent psychiatrist is on record as saying that Ian Fleming had to sublimate a…
Abstract
A recent biography claims that Georges Simenon, of Maigret fame, knew more than 1200 prostitutes. A recent psychiatrist is on record as saying that Ian Fleming had to sublimate a paranoid madness by writing about James Bond. We know now that Enid Blyton hated children and didn't get on with her husband, that Agatha Christie mysteriously disappeared and reappeared, and that the later Dorothy L Sayers turned against crime fiction because she felt it would corrupt social morals. Authors are a very strange bunch indeed, and their quirks and quaintnesses are legion: here is just a small platoon of gossipy tittle‐tattle, in the interests of clearing the air, not letting go of a good thing, and flying the flag.
Sharon C. Bolton and Maeve Houlihan
This extended editorial to the Special Issue “Are we having fun yet? A consideration of workplace fun and engagement” aims to review the current debates on organised “fun at work”…
Abstract
Purpose
This extended editorial to the Special Issue “Are we having fun yet? A consideration of workplace fun and engagement” aims to review the current debates on organised “fun at work” and to suggest a framework for understanding workplace fun and employee engagement. The papers included in the Special Issue are also to be introduced.
Design/methodology/approach
The editorial review asks for an approach that offers a critical appraisal and sets the latest move towards fun at work within the context of the material realties of work.
Findings
A review of contemporary debates on fun at work reveals a predominantly prescriptive focus on attempts to engage employees through fun activities that oversimplifies the human dynamism involved in the employment relationship. The editorial suggests that we need to consider the motivations, processes and outcomes of managed fun at work initiatives and to consider employees' reactions in terms of “shades of engagement” that detail how people variously engage, enjoy, endure, or escape managed fun.
Research limitations/implications
The suggested framework for understanding workplace fun and employee engagement offers opportunities for empirical testing.
Practical implications
Understanding workplace fun and the work that it does, and does not do, offers opportunities to improve relationships between employees and between employees and the organisation.
Originality/value
The editorial and Special Issue overall offers an important contribution to the ongoing fun at work and employee engagement debate and opens up avenues for further exploration and discussion.
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THE Wanstead Library is just round the corner from the shopping centre in the High Street where the old shop branch existed for many years. The new Library is a large…
Abstract
THE Wanstead Library is just round the corner from the shopping centre in the High Street where the old shop branch existed for many years. The new Library is a large, single‐storey structure with floor to ceiling windows facing Christchurch Green, a charming open space with well established trees. This spacious, attractive building is in complete contrast to the cramped accommodation previously occupied and local reaction has been emphatically favourable.
For many years, science fiction has been perceived as “rayguns and rocket ships” boys' literature. Any number of impressionistic and statistical studies have identified the…
Abstract
For many years, science fiction has been perceived as “rayguns and rocket ships” boys' literature. Any number of impressionistic and statistical studies have identified the typical SF reader as male, between the ages of twelve and twenty and, in the case of adults, employed in some technical field. Yet I continually find myself having conversations with women, only to find that they, like myself, began reading science fiction between the ages of six and ten, have been reading it voraciously ever since, and were often frustrated at the absence of satisfying female characters and the presence of misogynistic elements in what they read. The stereotype of the male reader and the generally male SF environment mask both the increasing presence of women writers in the field of science fiction and the existence of a feminist dialog within some SF novels. This dialog had its beginnings in the mid‐sixties and is still going strong. It is the hope of the feminist SF community that this effacement can be counteracted.
Sinead O'Connell, Maeve Henchion and Alan Collins
This paper seeks to investigate Irish hoteliers' customer service requirements of their food suppliers and to measure the trade‐offs that hotel buyers are willing to make during…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to investigate Irish hoteliers' customer service requirements of their food suppliers and to measure the trade‐offs that hotel buyers are willing to make during the purchase decision.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a quota sample of 100 hotels throughout the Republic of Ireland. Drawing on earlier research and applying conjoint analysis, the study demonstrates how customer service improvements may be achieved through variations in the customer service mix.
Findings
Findings indicate that, for short shelf‐life products, frequency of deliveries and the ability to carry out emergency deliveries generate the highest levels of utility. More utility is created by lower prices in the case of long shelf‐life products. Small food suppliers are found to perform better on product quality and are more responsive in terms of product delivery than larger suppliers. They are perceived to be weaker on pricing, product assortment, and innovation.
Research limitations/implications
The small number of observations for both four‐ and five‐star hotels in the sample limited the effectiveness of cluster analysis, which would greatly assist suppliers targeting specific markets with customer service bundles.
Practical implications
By highlighting the trade‐offs that buyers use in evaluating customer service, the findings provide suppliers with the basis for assessing their own particular service mix. An improvement in perceived customer service may be achieved by reallocating the given resources and effort in favour of those parts of the mix that generate most value for the buyer. The identified trade‐offs also provide manufacturers with the criteria that can be usefully applied to evaluate competing distributors for their products.
Originality/value
By focusing on the hotel sector, the paper provides insights into a much ignored market for food suppliers, which differs considerably from mainstream grocery in terms of concentration, buyer processes and buying criteria.
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Nuno Fernandes Crespo, Ricardo Belchior and Edivaldo Bartolomeu Costa
The purpose of this paper is to explore the most common individual entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) beliefs profiles associated with high entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the most common individual entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) beliefs profiles associated with high entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and how these differ when belonging to an entrepreneurial venture team (EVTeam).
Design/methodology/approach
After a general test of the ESE theory using a structural equations modeling, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) is used, on a multi-dimensional ESE scale, to find empirical evidence supporting the existence of different individual ESE profiles, equally associated with high EI individuals. Dividing the sample based on the existence or not of an EVTeam (EVTeam), differences for each group are identified and possible implications are discussed.
Findings
This research corroborates ESE as an important antecedent of EI and, from a more in-depth analysis, it also suggests that the highest levels of EI are compatible with different ESE profiles, some of which may be related to having established an EVTeam, or not.
Research limitations/implications
These findings may be useful for entrepreneurs and educators to reflect upon the needed competencies for an EVTeam and the research design might also be useful for policy makers to identify cultural, educational, and institutional shortcomings of the entrepreneurial context. A greater focus should be placed in developing ESE of potential entrepreneurs for the specific entrepreneurial activities for which the lack of perceived capabilities hinders entrepreneurial behavior and success.
Practical implications
This research may be useful for entrepreneurs and educators to reflect upon the needed competencies for an EVTeam. The research design might also be useful for policy makers to identify cultural, educational, and institutional shortcomings of the entrepreneurial context.
Originality/value
This research tests ESE theory in Angola – a country from the African continent from which there is limited empirical evidence – and by exploring the existence of different ESE profiles, with a method that allows for conjunctural causation, new insights and empirical support for future research are provided relative to the complex ESE-EI relationship.