Reviews the literature on quality. Defines quality in managementterms, gives examples of the advantages of quality appraisal, anddescribes how its assessment has been attempted by…
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Reviews the literature on quality. Defines quality in management terms, gives examples of the advantages of quality appraisal, and describes how its assessment has been attempted by self‐evaluation, surveys of user satisfaction, and failure analysis. Discusses examples of how quality appraisal schemes have been set up from scratch, and of approaches to quality standards setting. Gives, for four aspects of library service, a detailed analysis of quality criteria and standards and methods used in appraisal: enquiry answering, document provision, computerized reference retrieval, and current awareness service.
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Explains and defends the relevance of economic analysis to libraryand information management: to supply information useful forjustification and in making decisions about the…
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Explains and defends the relevance of economic analysis to library and information management: to supply information useful for justification and in making decisions about the allocation of available funds. Reviews methods of measuring value in the library information services context, and presents examples of the successful application of economic analysis to specific problems.
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This paper is an attempt to give the picture of a somewhat different approach from that at Harwell. Descriptions of the systems and the data bases being used at Aldermaston have…
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This paper is an attempt to give the picture of a somewhat different approach from that at Harwell. Descriptions of the systems and the data bases being used at Aldermaston have already been recorded in some detail, especially by L. Corbett, and so will not be repeated here. I would on the other hand like to say something about the policy behind the decision to use external data bases, to include some more up‐to‐date assessments of the use being made of these services and their present costs, and finally some plans for future developments.
The problems of One‐Man‐Bands (OMBs) began to be taken seriously in the early 1980s when the Aslib OMB group was formed. The group received considerable attention in the…
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The problems of One‐Man‐Bands (OMBs) began to be taken seriously in the early 1980s when the Aslib OMB group was formed. The group received considerable attention in the professional press, and became the object of a study by Judith Collins and Janet Shuter who identified them as “information professionals working in isolation”. Many of the problems identified in the Collins/Shuter study remain — not least of these being the further education and training needs of OMBs. These needs are studied in this report. The author has firstly done an extensive survey of the literature to find what has been written about this branch of the profession. Then by means of a questionnaire sent to the Aslib OMB group and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (INVOG), training and education needs have been pinpointed. Some of these needs have then been explored in greater detail by means of case studies. The author found that the most common deterrents to continuing education and training were time, cost, location, finding suitable courses to cover the large variety of skills needed and lastly, lack of encouragement from employers. The author has concluded by recommending areas where further research is needed, and suggesting some solutions to the problems discussed.
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What is Electronic Publishing? Electronic Publishing (EP) is the application of communications technology to distribute information. In the context of libraries, it typically…
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What is Electronic Publishing? Electronic Publishing (EP) is the application of communications technology to distribute information. In the context of libraries, it typically means large, often textual databases, stored on powerful computers, from which information is selectively retrieved using terminals linked to the computers via the telephone system.
INDUSTRY CAN ONLY benefit from the efforts of Airey Neave, chairman of the powerful all‐party Select Committee on science and technology. Neave was one of the first prisoners of…
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INDUSTRY CAN ONLY benefit from the efforts of Airey Neave, chairman of the powerful all‐party Select Committee on science and technology. Neave was one of the first prisoners of war to escape from Colditz Castle. He strolled out dressed as a German officer. Now he is using his initiative to overcome a security problem of another kind—Whitehall's hidden secrets.
Controversy over who‐gets‐what in the North Sea oil business has raged even more fiercely since an official report called for greater involvement by British industry. Russell…
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Controversy over who‐gets‐what in the North Sea oil business has raged even more fiercely since an official report called for greater involvement by British industry. Russell Johnston (below) — chairman of the Scottish Liberals — wants bargaining to be done by an oil corporation, while others advocate a State holding company. Sitting uncomfortably in the middle of this political slanging match are the oil companies, speculating on tougher terms for future licences. Report by Jack McGill and Paul Novak.
In a previous article we have called attention to the danger of eating tinned and bottled vegetables which have been coloured by the addition of salts of copper and we have urged…
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In a previous article we have called attention to the danger of eating tinned and bottled vegetables which have been coloured by the addition of salts of copper and we have urged upon the public that no such preparations should be purchased without an adequate guarantee that they are free from copper compounds. Copper poisoning, however, is not the only danger to which consumers of preserved foods are liable. Judging from the reports of cases of irritant poisoning which appear with somewhat alarming frequency in the daily press, and from the information which we have been at pains to obtain, there can be no question that the occurrence of a large number of these cases is to be attributed to the ingestion of tinned foods which has been improperly prepared or kept. It is not to be supposed that the numerous cases of illness which have been ascribed to the use of tinned foods were all cases of metallic poisoning brought about by the action of the contents of the tins upon the metal and solder of the latter. The evidence available does not show that a majority of the cases could be put down to this cause alone; but it must be admitted that the evidence is in most instances of an unsatisfactory and inconclusive character. It has become a somewhat too common custom to put forward the view that so‐called “ptomaine” poisoning is the cause of the mischief; and this upon very insufficient evidence. While there is no doubt that the presence in tinned goods of some poisonous products of decomposition or organic change very frequently gives rise to dangerous illness, so little is known of the chemical nature and of the physiological effects of “ptomaines” that to obtain conclusive evidence is in all cases most difficult, and in many, if not in most, quite impossible. A study of the subject leads to the conclusion that both ptomaine poisoning and metallic poisoning—also of an obscure kind—have, either separately or in conjunction, produced the effects from time to time reported. In view of the many outbreaks of illness, and especially, of course, of the deaths which have been attributed to the eating of bad tinned foods it is of the utmost importance that some more stringent control than that which can be said to exist at present should be exercised over the preparation and sale of tinned goods. In Holland some two or three years ago, in consequence partly of the fact that, after eating tinned food, about seventy soldiers were attacked by severe illness at the Dutch manœuvres, the attention of the Government was drawn to the matter by Drs. VAN HAMEL ROOS and HARMENS, who advocated the use of enamel for coating tins. It appears that an enamel of special manufacture is now extensively used in Holland by the manfacturers of the better qualities of tinned food, and that the use of such enamelled tins is insisted upon for naval and military stores. This is a course which might with great advantage be followed in this country. While absolute safety may not be attainable, adequate steps should be taken to prevent the use of damaged, inferior or improper materials, to enforce cleanliness, and to ensure the adoption of some better system of canning.
Dr. COLLINRIDGE, the Medical Officer of Health to the City of London, had occasion recently to call attention to the diseased condition of certain imported meats, and it is most…
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Dr. COLLINRIDGE, the Medical Officer of Health to the City of London, had occasion recently to call attention to the diseased condition of certain imported meats, and it is most disquieting to learn that some of these were apparently sent out from the country of origin under official certificates.
Ministry of Health, Whitehall, S.W. 1. 16th December, 1926. Sir, 1. I am directed by the Minister of Health to refer to Circular 606, dated the 11th August, 1925, and to forward…
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Ministry of Health, Whitehall, S.W. 1. 16th December, 1926. Sir, 1. I am directed by the Minister of Health to refer to Circular 606, dated the 11th August, 1925, and to forward for the information of the Authority a copy of the Public Health (Preservatives, &c., in Food) Amendment Regulations, 1926, which postpone the operation of the Public Health (Preservatives, &c., in Food) Regulations, 1925, so far as certain foods are concerned, and make certain minor alterations in those Regulations.