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Article
Publication date: 24 February 2012

Denis Fred Simon and Cong Cao

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the reliability of official Chinese government statistics in general, overview the evolution of China's S&T (science and technology…

1055

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the reliability of official Chinese government statistics in general, overview the evolution of China's S&T (science and technology) statistical system while highlighting the main sources of such statistics, point out some of the particular problems related to China's S&T statistics, and provide perspectives about how to best use and interpret these numbers.

Design/methodology/approach

Statistics of China's human resources in science and technology has been used to illustrate how such S&T statistics should be interpreted.

Findings

While the S&T data collection involving multiple government ministries causes problems, the interpretation of the data, including reconciling data from different sources and piecing information together, poses challenges to drawing an appropriate and overall picture of the development of S&T in China. In order to achieve a better understanding of China's S&T statistics, student researchers of Chinese science and technology have to comprehend the definitions, exhaust all the sources, and find and recognize discrepancies.

Originality/value

This paper represents the first effort to examine China's S&T statistical system, an important source of information regarding China's S&T development.

Details

Journal of Science and Technology Policy in China, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1758-552X

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 24 February 2012

Jiang Yu

317

Abstract

Details

Journal of Science and Technology Policy in China, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1758-552X

Article
Publication date: 4 June 2019

David Oswald, Fred Sherratt and Simon Smith

It is well-known that significant production pressures exist on many construction projects and previous studies have suggested that this pressure is a contributory factor in…

Abstract

Purpose

It is well-known that significant production pressures exist on many construction projects and previous studies have suggested that this pressure is a contributory factor in safety incidents on sites. While research has established that production pressures exist, less is understood about the construction practices that occur when projects are under such pressures and their repercussion for safety. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Through an ethnographic approach on a large construction project in the UK, these practices were explored and unpacked. The lead researcher was a member of the Health and Safety department, and undertook participant observation as a main research tool for three years.

Findings

It was found that informal, covert and dangerous “piecework” strategies were adopted at the site level in direct response to scheduling demands. Construction workers were incentivised through extra finance and rest periods to finish the work quickly, which, in turn, prioritised production over safety. Unreasonable production pressures remain an unresolved problem in the construction industry and are, perhaps consequentially, being informally managed on-site.

Originality/value

This study improves our understanding of the complexities involved in the unresolved demands between production and safety on construction sites, which marks a step towards addressing this substantial challenge that is deeply ingrained within the industry.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 26 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 1977

John S. Evans

A striking feature of Jaques' work is his “no nonsense” attitude to the “manager‐subordinate” relationship. His blunt account of the origins of this relationship seems at first…

1235

Abstract

A striking feature of Jaques' work is his “no nonsense” attitude to the “manager‐subordinate” relationship. His blunt account of the origins of this relationship seems at first sight to place him in the legalistic “principles of management” camp rather than in the ranks of the subtler “people centred” schools. We shall see before long how misleading such first impressions can be, for Jaques is not making simplistic assumptions about the human psyche. But he certainly sees no point in agonising over the mechanism of association which brings organisations and work‐groups into being when the facts of life are perfectly straightforward and there is no need to be squeamish about them.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 15 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1991

Allan Metz

Historically, Panama has always been “a place of transit.” While technically the isthmus formed part of Colombia in the nineteenth century, it was linked geopolitically to the…

Abstract

Historically, Panama has always been “a place of transit.” While technically the isthmus formed part of Colombia in the nineteenth century, it was linked geopolitically to the United States soon after the California gold rush, beginning in the late 1840s. The first attempt at building a canal ended in failure in 1893 when disease and poor management forced Ferdinand de Lesseps to abandon the project. The U.S. undertaking to build the canal could only begin after Panama declared itself free and broke away from Colombia in 1903, with the support of the United States.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1975

Those who move among the people with their eyes open will not doubt that the number of non‐smokers is increasing, but mostly among older adults. Sales of cigarettes, despite the…

Abstract

Those who move among the people with their eyes open will not doubt that the number of non‐smokers is increasing, but mostly among older adults. Sales of cigarettes, despite the ban on advertising and the grim warning printed on packets, do not reflect this however, which can only mean that those who still smoke are the heavy smokers. This is a bad sign; as is the fact that youngsters, including a high percentage of those at school, openly flaunt the habit. The offence of using tobacco or any other smoking mixture or snuff while handling food or in any food room in which there is open food (Reg. 10(e)), remains one of the common causes of prosecutions under the Food Hygiene Regulations; it has not diminished over the years. The commonest offenders are men and especially those in the butchery trade, fishmongers and stall‐holders, but, here again, to those who move around, the habit seems fairely widespread. Parts of cigarettes continue to be a common finding especially in bread and flour confectionery, but also in fresh meat, indicating that an offence has been committed, and only a few of the offenders end up in court. Our purpose in returning to the subject of smoking, however, is not to relate it to food hygiene but to discuss measures of control being suggested by the Government now that advertising bans and printed health warnings have patently failed to achieve their object.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 77 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1978

The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act…

1363

Abstract

The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act (which has been amended by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975) provides:

Details

Managerial Law, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0558

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1993

Lewis E. Hill and István Magas

Attempts to specify and to explicate some of the most importantreasons for the failure of communism or state socialism. Analyses thegeneral case of Eastern Europe, then applies…

Abstract

Attempts to specify and to explicate some of the most important reasons for the failure of communism or state socialism. Analyses the general case of Eastern Europe, then applies the analysis to the specific case of Hungary. Second, deduces a model of market socialism from the theories of Fred M. Taylor and Oskar Lange. Argues that the Taylor‐Lange model of market socialism certainly could be and probably would be a completely valid and viable economic system. Proposes, moreover, that this system of market socialism may prove a better alternative economic system than capitalism for the Eastern European nations that have abandoned communism.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 20 no. 5/6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1973

MARK HANSON

All too often in education the “band wagon” has played an important role in the adoption of innovations. An innovation is often dropped into the schools' environment by…

Abstract

All too often in education the “band wagon” has played an important role in the adoption of innovations. An innovation is often dropped into the schools' environment by enthusiastic leaders who have the expectation that anyone can recognize its obvious merits and will adapt his behavior accordingly. Subordinates, however, make their own judgements on how to respond to the innovation and, in varying degrees, elect to accept or subvert its conditions. Within a framework of organizational theory, this study attempts to explain the differing positive/negative responses of distinct groupings of educators toward the adoption of various classifications of innovations. The findings in this study suggest that the educational subsystem or subsystems which, in order to adopt the innovation, are required to make the greatest modifications in their normal procedures of operation will raise the highest level of resistance.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

William N. Thompson, Carl Lutrin, R. Fred Wacker and Elizabeth Vercher

Elazar’s typology of political cultures is examined. From his categorization of jurisdictions with aspects of 'moralistic' political cultures, five are selected: Wisconsin…

1273

Abstract

Elazar’s typology of political cultures is examined. From his categorization of jurisdictions with aspects of 'moralistic' political cultures, five are selected: Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Connecticut, and France. Their recent political history is examined and it is demonstrated that these 'moralistic' type polities have abandoned policies which formerly condemned or at least contained legalized gambling. Instead each has responded to commercial pressures for expanded gambling. The reasons why ‘moralistic’ values in making decisions in this arena have been cast aside are examined. The reasons include an international cross-polity homogenization of political cultures, a blurring of the meaning of ‘moralistic’ in today’s politics, and above all, severe economic crises that take precedence over other values.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

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