Search results

ALLAN RAMSAY'S The Gentle Shepherd is one of these dramas that few people nowadays have read or seen. True, the production in The Royal High School during two of the earlier Edinburgh Festivals drew the attention of many to this old favourite, and the charm of Ramsay's words and songs produced in the classic setting of the old High School hall is such a pleasant memory that a revival at some future Festival would be welcome.

The innovation process is not homogeneous, but highly variable according to industrial sector and the level of abstraction of the innovation itself. This level of abstraction from existing products while not precisely measurable, can be graded, thus giving some guidance as to the probability of success according to the size of investment and the risk involved. The complexity of the new product and its technological level (the monograph confines the argument to product innovation) will also determine how the innovating organisation handles the innovation. Much research has now been done into the innovation process, and some of the leading projects and their findings are analysed. Supporting the basic argument there are two case histories, one of a successful scientific instrument, together with reference to an unsuccessful attempt to launch it, and one of a failure with a new material, in spite of highly successful technology.

This chapter explores the use of Lesson Study (LS) as a strategy for co-constructing pedagogical knowledge and draws on data from a series of interviews with student teachers. Sixteen student teachers, undertaking a postgraduate teacher training program in higher education in England, engaged in LS as an official assessment of their ability to jointly plan, deliver, and evaluate a lesson. LS is thus seen to promote an intense collaborative working relationship between participating student teachers that engenders fresh opportunities for learning. It is argued, then, that this approach can challenge the prevalent model of individually led professional development by facilitating a space for the co-construction of pedagogical knowledge. LS is also explored for its potential to bridge the theory-practice divide by enabling participant student teachers to generate theory from practice.

Questions the value of ‘morale boosting’ as a device for salesman improvement, concludes that attention to specific attitudes is likely to prove more rewarding. Specifies the improvement of sales‐force morale is often seen as vital to effective performance. Sheds light on the scarcity of research efforts and the inconclusiveness of available findings indicate the effects of job attitudes on sales performance are uncertain and, at best, are likely to be situation specific. Chronicles that this study was designed to contribute to a small but growing body of research efforts into the question of job attitudes and selling performance.

In the second of a three‐part series on Japanese success, suggests that Japan′s success is due to its total commitment to quality. Asserts that total quality control is the qualifying criterion in their home market. Contends that the central core of TQC is quality assurance in all aspects of their business and that it results from the creation of an environment for communication where all operations within an organization are totally integrated. Asserts that quality assurance is part of the Japanese style of thinking and that they place a lot of emphasis on finding out exactly where and why they are doing things wrong. Emphasizes that there is feedback and/or feed forward of quality information at all stages. Summarizes that Japanese companies have a clear vision of the future. Management is the key difference. Outlines a number of facts that can be learnt from the Japanese experience of total quality control.

Total quality management does improve organizational performance and remains the most viable long‐term business strategy around. These were the findings of a recent report entitled “TQM: Forging a Need or Falling Behind?”, commissioned by Development Dimensions International of Pittsburgh, the Quality & Productivity Management Association of Schaumburg, Illinois, and Industry Week, which were based on interviews with 6,500 people in 84 organizations. However, on considering the various elements which help or hinder TQM implementation, training emerged as the one successful theme in successful programmes.

Accessible games, both for serious and for entertainment purposes, would allow inclusion and participation for those with disabilities. Research into the development of accessible games, and accessible virtual environments, is discussed. Research into accessible Virtual Environments has demonstrated great potential for allowing people who are blind to explore new spaces, reduce their reliance on guides and aid development of more efficient spatial maps and strategies. Importantly, Lahav and Mioduser (2005, 2008) have demonstrated that, when exploring virtual spaces, people who are blind use more and different strategies than when exploring real physical spaces, and develop relatively accurate spatial representations of them. The present paper describes the design, development and evaluation of a system in which a virtual environment may be explored by people who are blind using Nintendo Wii devices, with auditory and haptic feedback. The nature of the various types of feedback is considered, with the aim of creating an intuitive and usable system. Using Wii technology has many advantages: it is mainstream, readily available and cheap. The potential of the system for exploration and navigation is demonstrated. Results strongly support the possibilities of the system for facilitating and supporting the construction of cognitive maps and spatial strategies. Intelligent support is discussed. Systems such as the present one will facilitate the development of accessible games, and thus enable Universal Design and accessible interactive technology to become more accepted and widespread.

“‘Personable’ is management‐ese for ‘crumpet’”. Thus observed an old friend late last Sunday; much too late indeed for the subsequent dialogue about equal opportunities, in which we drew heavily upon anecdotal evidence, experiential learning and totally unsubstantiated surmise. What better cocktail for an evening's imbibing, and where better than the pages of NLW to air one of the hidden agendas of professional life?

The purpose of this paper is to identify whether, through the eyes of standard skilled employees and job applicants, differences exist between different types of non‐standard skilled workers.

Data were taken from a large survey of US‐based companies measuring the amount of work being completed by skilled independent contractors and outsourcing agencies. These data were then used in regression models predicting employee turnover and the time needed to fill vacancies in these positions.

The results suggest that different types of non‐standard workers will have differing effects on skilled standard employees' and job applicants' behaviors. Organisations using independent contractors appear to achieve short‐term staffing flexibility, but these organisations may have more difficulty filling job vacancies. Organisations using outsourcing arrangements may not see any changes in their skilled standard employees' or job applicants' behaviors.

The study specifically measures the differences between diverse non‐standard work arrangements. It adds to the literature on the effects these work arrangements have on standard employees. It is the first to consider the job applicants' interpretations of potential employers using non‐standard workers in their field of work.