Search results

MR. DENIS HOWELL, M.P., Minister for Libraries, who was to have told Conference how public libraries had progressed since the Act, had to withdraw and so we did not find out how the responsible minister felt about us.

DURING some comments on the brain drain last month it was remarked that work study technologists stood on the periphery. Suddenly they have been moved right to the centre as the result of a communication from Dr. Robert N. Lehrer. He is among the six American work study experts best known to the profession in this country, ranking with Barnes and Mundel as having contributed much to a right appreciation of the subject's value and its techniques.

FINANCIAL fears are only less cruel than those of war, and lead men into extravagances which they would repudiate indignantly in their cooler moments. If the doings of the Economy Committee at Manchester in relation to children's libraries, as described in the article by Mr. Lamb in our last issue, are true, we have in them an example of a kind of retrenchment at the expense of the young which we hope is without parallel and will have no imitators. Some reduc‐tion of estimates we hear of from this or that place, but in few has the stupid policy which urges that if we spend nothing we shall all become rich been carried into full effect. Libraries always have suffered in times of crisis, whatever they are; we accept that, though doubtfully; but we do know that the people need libraries.

The purpose of the study is to review some of the existing gaps in the third-generation of critical environmental justice (EJ) research and then propose promising combinations of theoretical concepts by adjoining (EJ) literature with other bodies of work with the use of qualitative research methods.

This paper is a critique of the third-generation of critical EJ literature. It demonstrates how the scope of this scholarship, particularly the third world EJ studies, can be expanded further by deploying various combinations of other theories and qualitative research methods.

Conceptually, this paper provides insights into the new directions that third world EJ theory can take by drawing from other bodies of work including the developmental state, caste, waste, informal sector and labor studies within its fold. Methodologically, the paper shows why and how qualitative research methods including single and multiple case study, participatory action research and ethnography can assist in developing these new integrations between theories.

This research calls for the need to conduct studies in each of the new research dimension suggested in this paper in novel empirical spaces. Such studies will enable the practice of EJ and will help to advance the field of EJ scholarship forward.

Analysis of new research combinations with qualitative research methods in new empirical spaces might create scope for practicing EJ in such spaces where various forms of environmental injustices prevail.

This paper identifies gaps in the third-generation of critical EJ research and proposes new research directions by combining other theories and qualitative methods.

Future legislation relating to the control of the national milk supply formed the subject of discussion in the House of Commons on the 5th March. Although no new points were brought out, the need for fresh legislation was emphasised in this discussion, especially the need for a general Act that would, while giving the central authority increased powers, do away “with the piecemeal, voluntary, and local enactments at present in existence. It is evident that if any radical change in the present system is to be effective it must not only be general as regards this country, but it must also be imperial” and international; inasmuch as it must deal both with the supplies that are produced at home and with those imported from abroad. It would obviously be in the highest degree unfair to the English farmer to make his stock, workpeople, and premises liable to the frequent expert inspection demanded, and, at the same time, to allow milk to enter this country from abroad without the application of an equally rigorous inspection on this side, and without some form of guarantee from the government of the country of origin. In all matters connected with food supply improved methods of preserving and sterilising as well as increased facilities for international commerce have resulted, as time has gone on, in a large number of food preparations of all kinds being thrown upon the markets. The trade in cheese and butter substitutes as well as that in canned and otherwise preserved meats, and the supply of cereal preparations, afford well known instances, and the milk trade is not singular in the circumstance that a considerable and increasing amount of, milk is treated in various ways, both at home and abroad, for consumption in this country.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how knowledge inflows and outflows interact to affect performance outcomes. Though previous studies have dealt with knowledge inflows and outflows, the quality and quantity characteristics of knowledge are often not taken into account, thus leaving a research gap with regards to the effect of their interactions on performance outcomes.

Based on Poisson regression analysis, this quantitative study fills the aforementioned research gaps by analyzing the ambidextrous configurations of knowledge flows from an ambidexterity perspective and examines their effects on two-phase performance (i.e. regular season and playoffs), using a longitudinal data set of National Basketball Association transactions from the 2003-2004 to 2014-2015 season.

The results suggest that the complementarity between knowledge inflows and outflows along the quality and quantity dimensions of knowledge, respectively, has a positive impact on two-phase performance, while the imbalance between knowledge inflows and outflows under the quality and quantity dimensions of knowledge, respectively, has a negative impact on playoffs performance (Phase 2). These findings suggest that organizations can balance knowledge inflows and outflows under a single quality or quantity dimension of knowledge. Furthermore, the interaction between the quantity of the inflows of knowledge and the quality of the outflows of knowledge and the interaction between the quality of the inflows of knowledge and the quantity of the outflows of knowledge are both positively related to two-phase performance. These findings suggest that organizations can balance knowledge inflows and outflows across quality and quantity dimensions of knowledge. Finally, the effects of the interaction between knowledge inflows and outflows on playoffs performance are greater than regular-season.

Organizations should leverage ambidexterity to manage/balance knowledge inflows and outflows across quality and quantity dimensions, further enhancing performance outcomes.

This study, first, provides new insights into knowledge flows by distinguishing between the quality and quantity of knowledge, the inflows and outflows of knowledge, constructing ambidextrous configurations of knowledge flows from an ambidexterity perspective. Second, it contributes to the relationship between knowledge flows and organizational performance by revealing how ambidextrous configurations of knowledge flows exert different effects on performance outcomes. Third, it adds to the literature of ambidexterity-performance relationships and expands it to the context of sports.

WHEN one considers the fundamental weakness of time study—the personal evaluation of performance—it raises the question whether the predetermined motion time system is going to absolve the time study engineer from future disputes as to standard times. And if it is, then at whose door, may we ask, are these disputes to be laid?

The purpose of this paper is to use the case study of development projects in Sri Lanka and development reports published from 1978 to 2006 to trace how the World Bank has utilised accounting rhetoric/languages in articulating development discourses at different stages of global capitalism.

Multiple research methods are employed, such as archival research, observations and interviews. Development reports published by the World Bank (1978–2006) are closely examined using discourse analysis.

Development projects in Sri Lanka and development reports during the last three decades demonstrate that ideological shifts brought about the changes in accounting rhetoric in development discourses. The paper further shows that the articulation and re-articulation of development discourses communicated by accounting rhetoric have yet to grasp the real complexity of the local problems in those villages in Sri Lanka. The mere focus on management and governance styles (albeit important) driven by the development ideology and rational accounting rhetoric of the World Bank seems to bring little reward to villagers or, indeed, to the policy makers.

The paper adds to the literature on the use of accounting languages in development discourses, especially in the context of less developed countries. It will be of great value to researchers and practitioners seeking to gain a better understanding of reforms driven by a particular set of accounting technology in distant places.

The growing adoption of sustainable finance for inclusive agribusiness requires a cross-country comparison. In this paper, a comparative discourse of sustainable finance (SF) options for agribusiness transformation in Nigeria and Brunei is attempted; as well as examining the implications on entrepreneurship and enterprise development in both countries.

A mixed research method was adopted for this cross-country comparative analysis. To gain deeper insight into agribusiness and SF, the authors sourced the required data from scholarly articles, texts, World Bank data (2000–2016), national policy documents, working papers, national development plan reports, and other online resources on agribusiness and SF. The authors adopted mixed data (non-numeric and numeric data) because they allow for combining content analysis and secondary data in quantitative analysis (Williams and Shepherd, 2017). This mixed method approach follows a three-stage, namely: Data sourcing, Data development and conversion and Data analysis.

This discourse based on the mixed data produced four findings. Firstly, it was found that both countries have different statuses in the agribusiness sector, but Brunei had better growth performance in the crop, food, livestock, cereal production indices compared to Nigeria. Secondly, the challenges facing agribusiness in both countries include inadequate funding, misuse/mismanagement of land resources, deployment of extractive farming practices, application of ozone-depleting chemicals and pesticides among others have harmed the vegetation, the farmland, and the chemistry of the ocean resulting in low productivity. Thirdly, the SF options that are suitable for agribusiness transformation are green loans, green bonds, green credit, green investment funds, green mortgage scheme and other green financial support instruments given mostly as grants, subsidies and tax reliefs. The key guidelines for entrepreneurs seeking SF options for agribusiness are Principles 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 of the EPs.

The main limitation of the study is that the analysis and interpretation of the findings are based on descriptive statistics. However, future research should consider using rigorous econometric tests such as the Co-Integration Test, Test of Causality and Inferential Statistics that would enhance stronger generalisation and prediction.

The practical implication is that agribusiness transformation through sustainable finance options (SFOs) would bring about a structural change from the current subsistence agricultural practices to large-scale agriculture practices characterised by the deployment of agricultural information systems (AGRIS), precision agriculture and agricultural technologies. Flowing from the first implication, the nexus between agribusiness and SFOs will systematically improve agricultural productivity in the areas of crop production, fishing, livestock and forestry in both countries. Thirdly, an improved agribusiness would boost food production and availability thereby mitigating the rising trends in food insecurity, food inflation, food poverty, and ultimately will help actualize SDG 1(No poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing).

The authors contribute to the literature on SF and agribusiness in emerging economies by identifying an inclusive strategy that matters for agribusiness transformation in high-income and low-income economies.

The high turnover rate of knowledge workers presents a challenge to both organizational and personal knowledge management. Although personal knowledge management plays an important role in organizational knowledge management, empirical research on the practices for its application is underdeveloped. This study aims to examine the role of idiosyncratic job-design practices (i.e. job definition, job autonomy, innovation as a job requirement and lifelong learning orientation) in cultivating personal knowledge management among knowledge workers in organizations, to increase their productivity and safeguard the organization against knowledge loss arising from knowledge workers’ interfirm mobility.

Data were collected from 221 knowledge workers pursuing various knowledge-intensive jobs through a questionnaire survey and were analysed using partial least squares modelling.

The results demonstrated that three job-design practices (job definition, innovation as a job requirement and lifelong learning orientation) have a positive impact on personal knowledge management among knowledge workers and thus improve their productivity. However, job autonomy can affect personal knowledge management negatively.

The findings are confined to a specific context and should be replicated across different contexts for better generalizability in future research.

Organizational managers should pay attention to (re)designing knowledge-intensive jobs to cultivate personal knowledge management by clearly outlining job responsibilities, offering opportunities to add relevant job activities and drop irrelevant ones, and making innovation and lifelong learning a formal job requirement. In addition, job autonomy should be judiciously provided along with sufficient social and network support to avoid lost opportunities in knowledge creation and sharing, and should be linked to job responsibilities and performance appraisals to avoid negative effects.

The high turnover rate of knowledge workers presents a challenge to both organizational and personal knowledge management. This study contributes to the literature by addressing the research gap in two aspects. Firstly, based on Drucker’s theory, this study identifies four idiosyncratic job-design practices (job definition, job autonomy, innovation as a job requirement and lifelong learning orientation) that reflect the distinctive characteristics of knowledge-intensive work. Secondly, this study examines whether and how these practices can cultivate personal knowledge management among knowledge workers, which can support their productivity.