The microcomputer has such a profound effect on teaching style that it cannot be thought of just as an aid similar to an overhead projector. It requires a totally new approach to…
Abstract
The microcomputer has such a profound effect on teaching style that it cannot be thought of just as an aid similar to an overhead projector. It requires a totally new approach to teaching, whether this be within a formal lecture or an individual tutorial. Such a change will not be welcomed by inexperienced or unprepared staff, and will be resisted resolutely. Those staff, however, who have witnessed the enhancement of some parts of a teaching programme by the intelligent use of a microcomputer, and who are prepared to make the effort, will be well rewarded. This is not to say that the micro has applications in all subject areas to the same degree; but this degree cannot yet be stated with any clear precision, since new applications are being discovered continuously in subjects which have previously been considered immune.
Hygrotherm Engineering Ltd has appointed Mr Peter H. Pearson to be manager of the Synthetic Resin Department with general responsibility for the design and marketing of complete…
Abstract
Hygrotherm Engineering Ltd has appointed Mr Peter H. Pearson to be manager of the Synthetic Resin Department with general responsibility for the design and marketing of complete plants for the production of synthetic resins for surface coatings and adhesives. He was previously project manager in Hygrotherm's Heating Department.
Jessica Strübel and Monica Sklar
In 1930s Britain, tennis champion Fred Perry was a household name. However, the name Fred Perry is more commonly associated with striped-collar polo shirts featuring a laurel…
Abstract
In 1930s Britain, tennis champion Fred Perry was a household name. However, the name Fred Perry is more commonly associated with striped-collar polo shirts featuring a laurel wreath logo. In the late 1960s, Fred Perry polo shirts were standard mod and Skinhead dress. When worn by working-class youth the shirt became subversive commentary on English elitism because it had originally been designed for the tennis courts. Many punks also aligned with the brand in dual demonstration of association with working-class ethics as well as an alternative to t-shirts. In the 1980s and onward, this sartorial style was appropriated by right-wing white nationalists, which stripped it of its subcultural spirit. Patriot groups, such as neo-Nazis and the alt-right have continued to co-opt the subcultural style, simultaneously turning the Fred Perry polo into a symbol of racism and bigotry. The multi-use of the Fred Perry brand creates a challenge in how to interpret visual cues when one garment has competing perceptions that at times can be completely opposing. This study examines the history of the Fred Perry brand through the lens of symbolic interactionism, specifically how the shirt evolved from a rather innocuous, yet subversive, form of merchandize repurposed from the tennis world to youth subcultures where the polo communicated group identity. As the brand has moved through fashion cycles, the association of the Fred Perry polo with deviant groups has reduced the brand to representations of hate and separation, which has impacted sales and brand image with its intended consumers.
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Mark White, John Wells and Tony Butterworth
This paper reviews the Lean Healthcare and Productive Ward: releasing time to care (RTC) literature and extracts the reported effects and impacts experienced by employees who…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reviews the Lean Healthcare and Productive Ward: releasing time to care (RTC) literature and extracts the reported effects and impacts experienced by employees who implement it. The purpose of this paper is to identify and investigate the strength of the connection between the two models and explores the implications for leadership and implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reviewed the Lean Healthcare and Productive Ward: RTC literature using strict systematic inclusion criteria. A qualitative content analysis was used to identify key characteristics of reported employee experience, effect or impact. Themes and categories were ranked by the number of citations and presented.
Findings
This study outlines the similar employee effects and impacts that exist between Lean-type improvement initiatives and the Productive Ward: RTC programme. It discusses the three top themes of: Empowerment, Leadership and Engagement and explores the opportunities for leadership. It also identifies one key difference between the two initiatives, the socio-cultural effect and impact which is strongly reported with Lean-type improvement initiatives. The socio-cultural element is discussed and presented as one of the fundamental aspects of Lean and the original Toyota production system.
Originality/value
This study brings new insights for leaders involved in Lean-type improvement initiatives which are currently being imported into healthcare and provides a comprehensive list of reported employee impacts and effects of value to healthcare leaders attempting to establish an environment and culture of improvement.
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Anthony Webster, John F. Wilson and Nicholas D. Wong
This paper is concerned with the historical record of one business in the UK, which has long laid claim to the moral high ground in the conduct of its affairs – the amalgam of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is concerned with the historical record of one business in the UK, which has long laid claim to the moral high ground in the conduct of its affairs – the amalgam of consumer co-operative business organisations, which eventually merged to become the Co-operative Group at the beginning of the 21st century. This paper aims to offer an assessment of the record of the British consumer co-operative movement’s efforts to abide by and promote its values and principles during the first 137 years of its existence (1863 to 1990).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is developed using largely qualitative research methods and a variety of sources. These include archival resources and business-historical materials such as committee minutes and correspondence. These materials have been complemented by several semi-structured recorded interviews with senior members of the Co-operative Group.
Findings
The authors develop several conclusions. First, where ethical choices were possible and no serious commercial interests were impaired, the co-operative movement could and usually did do its best to adhere to its principles. Second, in several instances, commercial interests did frequently trump ideals. Finally, the organisational structure of the movement made it very difficult to ensure that co-operative principles and values were adhered to.
Originality/value
This paper presents a unique case-study that examines the inherent tension between commerce and ethics in the co-operative movement.
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Michele Alacevich, Pier Francesco Asso and Sebastiano Nerozzi
This paper discusses the American debate over price controls and economic stabilization after World War II, when the transition from a war economy to a peace economy was…
Abstract
This paper discusses the American debate over price controls and economic stabilization after World War II, when the transition from a war economy to a peace economy was characterized by bottlenecks in the productive system and shortages of food and other basic consumer goods, directly affecting the living standard of the population, the public opinion, and political discourse. Specifically, we will focus on the economist Franco Modigliani and his proposal for a “Plan to meet the problem of rising meat and other food prices without bureaucratic controls.” The plan prepared by Modigliani in October 1947 was based on a system of taxes and subsidies to foster a proper distribution of disposable income and warrant a minimum meat consumption for each individual without encroaching market mechanisms and consumers’ freedom. We will discuss the contents of the plan and its further refinements, and the reactions it prompted from fellow economists, the public opinion, and the political world. Although the Plan was not eventually implemented, it was an important initiative for several reasons: first, it showed the increasing importance of fiscal policy among postwar government tools of intervention in the economic sphere; second, it showed a third way between direct government intervention and full-fledged laissez faire, in tune with the postwar political climate; third, it proposed a Keynesian macroeconomic approach to price and income stabilization, strongly based on econometric and microeconomic foundations. The Meat Plan was thus a fundamental step in Modigliani’s effort to build the “neoclassical synthesis” between Keynesian and Neoclassical economics, which would deeply influence his own career and the evolution of academic studies and government practices in the United States.
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Corporate biographies can be a tough sell because everyone (at least everybody in the company's industry) knows how the stories end. What can be fascinating in the right authors'…
Abstract
Corporate biographies can be a tough sell because everyone (at least everybody in the company's industry) knows how the stories end. What can be fascinating in the right authors' hands however, is how companies got to from point A to point B, Q, or Y.