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Review of major policy paper in relation to the ambulance service [in England] efficiency and productivity with reference to observed “unacceptable variation”.

Critical review of ambulance service/EMS policy approach in England.

Lord Carter’s review describes failings in performance of UK ambulance service/EMS. However, the identified failings are essentially a repetition of many almost identical similar findings. There is a tendency of policy in respect of the ambulance service in England, as exemplified by Lord Carter’s report to consider analysis of the problem a more significant task that actually addressing the shortcoming defined.

This viewpoint comment piece is produced as a viewpoint with all the attendant limitations implied in this approach. However, it has been produced from an informed position.

Challenge to current UK ambulance policy. Previous repetitious finding need to be addressed definitively.

The efficiency of UK ambulance services/EMS is seriously impaired, and indeed these findings have been acknowledge previously. However, little by way of active remediation has been attempted. The current approach as exemplified in Lord Carter's recent review appears to ensure that analysis of the long- standing problems that exist is sufficient and possible preferable to active remediation and improvement.

No previous critical review of this type has been attempted (as it would be career-limiting).

This paper aims to compile an annotated list of films about or pertaining to the artist Andy Warhol.

Films were located using library catalogs, databases and online searches. Selections were evaluated through inspection and both academic and popular film reviews. Inclusion was predicated not only on subject matter and merit but also on availability either on home media or online.

Warhol’s many artistic creations can be introduced and evaluated using a combination of visual and auditory representation. Movies and television (TV) depicting Warhol through dramatization, primary source film, biographical documentary and his art in the context of other artists and movements are readily available through a variety of media.

The selected titles provide a comprehensive introduction to the scholarly analysis of Warhol’s art and work through a format that allows the most extensive representation of Warhol’s artistic output.

Much of the existing research in sports sponsorship is applied in nature and devoid of serious theoretical insight regarding its role from a marketing communication effects standpoint. In this study, Taylor & Crocker's (1981) schema theory is used to interpret the phenomenon that sponsoring events exhibiting a good image fit with the brand can strengthen brand awareness. Since consumers' perceptions of the FIFA World Cup/official partners image fit enhance the brand awareness of sponsoring brands, the results have implications for the FIFA World Cup marketing parties using sports sponsorship as a strategic marketing tool.

Adam Smith is revered as the father of modern economics. Analysis of his writings, however, reveals a profoundly medieval outlook. Smith is preoccupied with the need to preserve order in society. His scientific methodology emphasises reconciliation with the world we live in rather than investigation of it. He invokes a version of natural law in which the universe is a harmonious machine administered by a providential deity. Nobody is uncared for and, in real happiness, we are all substantially equal. No action is without its appropriate reward – in this life or the next. The social desirability of individual self-seeking activity is ensured by the “invisible hand,” that is, the hand of a god who has moulded us so to behave, that the quantity of happiness in the world is always maximised.

This paper aims to evaluate the suggestion that the antecedents of union commitment and participation may differ between foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China based on the view that SOE unions will focus more strongly on the traditional dual role, emphasising on managerial functions and employee welfare.

The paper is based on employee surveys in two enterprises in Shanghai, one FIE and one SOE. Employee attitudes towards the union and enterprise were measured using a self-completion questionnaire, and data were analysed using structural equation modelling.

Findings suggest that pro-union attitudes were more salient in the FIE context. In contrast, SOE workers’ allegiance to the union appeared to be a less reflection of pro-union attitudes and was more narrowly instrumental.

The findings suggest that FIEs workers’ union allegiances are more likely to reflect a pro-union orientation, with SOE workers more likely to see their union allegiances in narrowly instrumental terms. In FIEs, with a profit-oriented and privately managed enterprise, union allegiances may be closer to those of Western market economies, whilst in SOEs, the “dual role” model persists, with unions a service provider rather than an independent employee representative.

The findings in this paper provide an initial test of the potential differences in the antecedents of union commitment and participation across FIEs and SOEs. Future research is needed to build on these findings, in particular, adopting multi-enterprise study designs across different enterprise types.

The topic of whistleblowing is achieving prominence as a question of social policy. Some influential voices are suggesting that far from whistleblowing — informing on organisations —, being socially undesirable, it may in certain circumstances be an activity deserving high praise. Inevitably it entails huge risks to the activist, and these risks need to be personally and carefully considered. John Banham, Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, wrote in support of the Social Audit report on the subject (Winfield 1990), and a committee established by the Speaker of the House of Commons has suggested the possibility of honouring whistleblowers in the British Honours system for their good corporate citizenship. There have also been landmark reports in America, Australia and Canada (Leahy 1978, Electoral and Administrative Review Commission 1990, Ontario Law Reform Commission 1986).

The purpose of this study is to identify the primary root causes of defects in terms of why they persist in construction, despite the increasing implementation of quality systems. Defects in construction continue to be a source of concern in the construction industry. There have been studies that have tried to identify causes of defects. Although concepts are usually related to organisational factors, previous studies have been carried out on an operational level. There is a well-trodden area within the literature relating to the operational level, but little is known about the causes of defects on a higher, organisational level within construction.

A new approach based on the notion of process causality and the use of cognitive mapping has been adopted. The aim was to take a step back and unravel causes of defects in the execution of construction projects. From workshops with representatives drawn from different parts of the industry, themes have been identified and investigated from a causation perspective.

It was found that the causes of defects mainly reside in endogenous factors within organisations as opposed to execution failure or exogenous factors related to market, material or equipment behaviour.

More specifically, it was found that the dominant cause of defects lies within organisational shortcomings, suggesting that improvements can be found on the management and strategic levels within projects instead of on the operational level.