Patricia Ball, Maureen Spinetto and Derek Beeston
The practical approach to quality assurance taken at the Mental Health Foundation (Mid‐Staffordshire) is described. It emphasises an approach which could be understood by everyone…
Abstract
The practical approach to quality assurance taken at the Mental Health Foundation (Mid‐Staffordshire) is described. It emphasises an approach which could be understood by everyone and sets out the key factors in its success. Focusing on the systems and the culture developed within the unit, it demonstrates how to get the balance right.
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Ray A. DeCormier and Anita Jackson
First impressions last forever! Often this initial meeting sets the impression buyers will have about the salesperson and his or her company. For this reason, the introduction…
Abstract
First impressions last forever! Often this initial meeting sets the impression buyers will have about the salesperson and his or her company. For this reason, the introduction cannot be taken lightly. The introduction consists of these steps, the first three of which are presented in part I: assess the environment and prospect personality type; introduce the salesperson to include name, company name, reason and anticipated length of time for the call; establish first‐name terms. State the rules: business philosophy and payment terms. Request permission to ask questions. Reposition the salesperson ‐ remove physical barriers. To understand what constitutes a successful introduction, we also need to know what the goals or objectives of the introduction stage are and how they can be achieved. A successful introduction should enhance a fair and level “playing field” between the buyer and the seller.
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Although the commodification of black bodies amid state violence and widespread racism is nothing new, considering the histories of Hollywood, jazz, minstrelsy, or even athletes…
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Although the commodification of black bodies amid state violence and widespread racism is nothing new, considering the histories of Hollywood, jazz, minstrelsy, or even athletes enslaved on plantations (Rhoden, 2006), the hyper commodification of the contemporary black athlete, alongside expansive processes of globalization, growth in the profitability of black bodies, and their importance within colorblind discourse, demonstrates the importance of commodification within our new racist moment. Likewise, the shrinking opportunities afforded to African American youth, alongside clear messages about the path to desired black masculinity (Neal, 2005; Watkins, 1998; West, 1994), push black youth into a sports world where the possibility of striking it rich leads to a “win at all costs” attitude. Robin Kelley argues that African American youth participate in sports or engage in other cultural practices as an attempt to resist or negotiate the inherent contradictions of post-industrial American capitalism (Kelley, 1998). Patricia Hill Collins describes this process in the following terms: “Recognizing that black culture was a marketable commodity, they put it up for sale, selling an essentialized black culture that white youth could emulate yet never own. These message was clear – ‘the world may be against us, but we are here and we intend to get paid’” (Collins, 2006, p. 298). Celia Lury concurs, noting that heightened levels of commodification embody a shift from a racial logic defined by scientific racism to one centering on cultural difference. She argues that commodity racism “has contributed to shifts in how racism operates, specifically to the shift from a racism tied to biological understandings of ‘race’ in which identity is fixed or naturalized to a racism in which ‘race’ is a cultural category in which racial identity is represented as a matter of style, and is the subject of choice” (Lury, 1996, p. 169; as quoted in Spencer, 2004, p. 123). In the context of new racism, as manifested in heightened levels of commodification of Othered bodies, racial identity is simply a choice, but a cultural marker that can be celebrated and sold, policed, or demonized with little questions about racial implications (Spencer, 2004, pp. 123–125). Blackness, thus, becomes little more than a culture style, something that can be sold on Ebay and tried on at the ball or some something that needs to be policed or driven out-of-existence. Race is conceptualized “as a matter of style, something that can be put on or taken off at will” (Willis as quoted in Spencer, 2004, p. 123). Collins notes further that the process of commodification is not simply about selling “an essentialized black culture,” but rather a particular construction of blackness that has proven beneficial to white owners. “Athletes and criminals alike are profitable, not for the vast majority of African American men, but for people who own the teams, control the media, provide food, clothing and telephone services, and who consume seemingly endless images of pimps, hustlers, rapists, and felons” (2006, p. 311). bell hooks, who describes this process as “eating the other,” sees profit and ideology as crucial to understanding the commodification of black bodies. “When race and ethnicity become commodified as resources for pleasure, the culture of specific groups, as well as the bodies of individuals, can be seen as constituting an alternative playground where members of dominating races…affirm their power-over in intimate relations with the other” (Hooks, 1992, p. 23). She, along with Collins, emphasizes the importance of sex and sexuality, within this processes of commodification, arguing that commodification of black male (and female) bodies emanates from and reproduces longstanding mythologies regarding black sexual power.
Interest rates are up! How long will they stay up? How far up will they go? Should your investments be long term or short term? What type of investments should you look for? How…
This article takes stock of the current promises and problems of postmodern-informed interactionism. It points out that postmodern interactionism may go the way of…
Abstract
This article takes stock of the current promises and problems of postmodern-informed interactionism. It points out that postmodern interactionism may go the way of ethnomethodology unless it is more reflexive about its practices. The article examines the present trends in postmodern informed interactionism, then speculates about future paths for it, by creative various analytic categories for postmodern interactionisms. Present trends include personal ethnographies, subdivided into autoethnographies, polyphonies, and impressionistic stories. Other present trends are cooperative ethnographies, performances, and power/knowledge ethnographies. Future paths are divided into the building block approach, the blending approach, the empathetic approach, and the divisive approach. The article summarizes the pros and cons of postmodernism for interactionists. The author notices that postmodern interactionism lacks clear criteria of evaluation and points to the possible courses to follow to rectify the problem.
Julia Halpin, Patricia Wain and Peter Nolan
This paper reports on a study undertaken in one mental health NHS foundation trust in the UK, which sought to examine to what extent advanced practice nursing could contribute to…
Abstract
This paper reports on a study undertaken in one mental health NHS foundation trust in the UK, which sought to examine to what extent advanced practice nursing could contribute to advancing new ways of working in the future. The literature on advanced nursing in the UK is critically discussed and where availability permits, reference is made to international literature. The findings of a survey of nurses with a Masters degree or acting at advanced level are reported and discussed. Though the data reported here are largely confirmed by similar studies, nevertheless the insights provided should alert organisations to the complexity of introducing new roles during a time of radical change in the health care system. Despite the efforts of a highly motivated trust, respondents identified barriers and obstacles that were of such significance that some were forced to rethink their readiness to embrace the role. It is hoped that the recommendations derived from this study may assist other organisations at a similar stage of implementing advanced nursing practice roles.
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Sonia Patricia Brühl, Amado Cabo, Walter Tuckart and Germán Prieto
The purpose of this study is to select a proper surface treatment to enhance wear resistance of engine camshafts. The camshaft is a relevant part of a diesel engine which works…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to select a proper surface treatment to enhance wear resistance of engine camshafts. The camshaft is a relevant part of a diesel engine which works under torsion, fatigue and wear efforts. They are usually manufactured by casting, forging or machining from forged bar of low alloy steels, and in most cases, the machined surfaces are quenched and tempered by induction heating. After that, in many cases, to withstand the efforts imposed on the active surfaces and improve tribology and fatigue properties, the industry used for decades, thermochemical technologies such as salt bath or gaseous nitriding and nitrocarburizing processes.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper studied the effects of plasma nitriding and plasma nitrocarburizing, on the tribological behaviour of the steel SAE 1045HM3 proposed to produce camshafts. After the plasma treatments, the change in surface roughness was measured; the modified layers were studied by X-ray techniques and its thickness by optical microscopy. The diffusion zone was evaluated by Vickers microhardness determinations. Tribology tests were performed by pin-on-disc configuration using WC ball as a counterpart.
Findings
Results show that plasma nitrided samples present the best tribological behaviour compared with the nitrocarburized ones; also, the influence of the roughness produced by the thermochemical processes appears to be important.
Practical implications
Although both the plasma treatments have been applied for many years, and also reported separately in the scientific literature, there was no information comparing these two treatments for carbon steels, and also, there is not much about tribology in lubricated conditions of nitrided and nitrocarburized carbon steels. In fact, it is not proved that the porosity of the nitrocarburized layer is beneficial for wear resistance in lubricated conditions. In this paper, it was proved that at least in the tested conditions, it is not.
Originality/value
Gas or plasma nitrocarburizing is usually recommended for this kind of applications, although the modified layer is porous. This paper attempts to prove that nitriding could be better than nitrocarburizing, even with a thinner white layer.
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From the 1960s onwards, students and members of the academic community on growing numbers of college and university campuses in the United States chose to confront the issue of…
Abstract
From the 1960s onwards, students and members of the academic community on growing numbers of college and university campuses in the United States chose to confront the issue of apartheid by advocating divestment from corporations or financial institutions with any sort of presence in or relationship with South Africa. Student divestment advocates faced serious opposition from university administrators as well as opponents of institutional divestiture both at home and abroad. Despite these challenges, the academic community in the United States was one of the first arenas where anti-apartheid activism coalesced. This chapter examines the campaigns of students and educators who participated in the debate over divestment – to engage with the South African government and apartheid through dialogue and communication or to disengage completely from the country through withdrawal of financial investments. The anti-apartheid efforts of the academic community at Michigan State University, one of the first large research universities in the United States to confront the issue of apartheid and divestment at the university level and beyond, serves as a window to view academic activism against apartheid. The Southern Africa Liberation Committee (SALC), a consortium of students, faculty, and community members dedicated to aiding the liberation struggle of Southern Africa, led the efforts at Michigan State and collaborated with allies across Michigan and the United States. SALC focused most of its efforts on South Africa, though the organization also confronted the issue of South Africa's controversial occupation of South West Africa and the ongoing civil war in Angola.
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This paper examines the Random Walk Hypothesis (RWH) for aggregate New Zealand share market returns, as well as the CRSP NYSE‐AMEX (USA) index during the 1980‐2001 period. Using…
Abstract
This paper examines the Random Walk Hypothesis (RWH) for aggregate New Zealand share market returns, as well as the CRSP NYSE‐AMEX (USA) index during the 1980‐2001 period. Using several indices, we rely on the variance‐ratio test and find evidence to support the rejection of the RWH with some evidence of a momentum effect. However, we find evidence to suggest the behaviour of share prices to be time‐dependent in New Zealand. For example, we find the indices tested were closer to random after the 1987 share market crash. Further analysis showed even stronger results for periods subsequent to the passage of the Companies Act 1993 and the Financial Reporting Act 1993. We also find evidence that indices based on large capitalisation stocks are more likely to follow a random walk compared to those based on smaller stocks. For the USA index, we find stronger evidence of random behaviour in our sample period compared to the earlier period examined by Lo and Mackinlay (1988)
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One difficulty in planning IT applications is the speed with which new technology invalidates the plans. Planning would be difficult enough if it were possible to visualise the…
Abstract
One difficulty in planning IT applications is the speed with which new technology invalidates the plans. Planning would be difficult enough if it were possible to visualise the future, but it is almost impossible to predict where technology is going.