Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine the decision to contract school meal services and the associated nutritional and financial impacts on school districts. Given the increase in the use of competitive contracting of public school meal services and the critical role that school meal services play in public health, this is an important subject to investigate.

A case study was performed using one US school district with privatized food service. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with school food service decision makers. Other data collection included the analysis of public documents such as the school district’s budgets and financial statement reports (the cost per lunch and breakfast meals, the cost for labor, contract, transport, supplies and food expenses) and school food service policies (contract policies). Supplementary data pertaining to district social-demographic profiles and full-time equivalent enrollment figures were also collected from state departments.

Analysis of interviews revealed that positive financial motivations and impacts were dominant factors related to contracting food services in the district. A significant finding was the relatively short turnaround in the district’s negative financial situation as a result of contracting out the food services. These findings provide valuable insight and support for rural school districts in similar negative financial situations seeking to contract out food services.

Many studies have examined contracting out of technical services, such as transport and waste management, and social services, such as correctional services and health; however, there is a lack of studies documenting the effects of contracting out of school meal services.

“I'm afraid I don't often have the opportunity, myself, of showing people around” explained the director of Multi‐Media Amenity Resources, “but most of my staff are taking industrial action today … oh, some minor dispute about my plan to convert branch libraries into games 'n disco bars.” In fact he hadn't been to the building for three months due to the pressure of committee, sub‐committee, advisory group, interdepartmental, forward planning, twinning, budget trimming, directorate, joint steering committee, management, community profile, section, heads of departments and ‘don't minute that’ decision making meetings. In addition, were day, weekend, short course, refresher, local, regional, national, schools, courses, seminars and conferences which he felt obliged to attend in order to supplement his collection of handy‐packed hotel beverages, and, incidentally, to keep up with all that was new and wonderful in the field of librarianship.

The electric utility industry, unlike most other technology‐intensive industries, does not spend much money or effort on research and development. Many utilities do not possess an in‐house R&D facility, nor is there an R&D line item in their budgets. Over the last several decades the rate of change in the electric utility industry has been very slow and in‐house R&D efforts have not been required. As the rate of change in the industry is beginning to change, the need to pursue R&D is increasing. The electric utility industry is responding to this increasing requirement by increasing R&D budgets, and in some cases re‐initiating the R&D process within individual utilities. The purpose of this paper is to focus on R&D portfolio management efforts of various actors from different industrial sectors, to find out the best practices by using benchmarking method.

The paper used case study approach and on‐site interviews as research methods.

The authors found that R&D management is in its infancy in the electric utility sector, while the methods established in the manufacturing sector are applicable there.

This study is exploring R&D management in the electric utility sector and contributes to the service innovation research stream.

The four sections to this article have distinct but inter‐related objectives. Part I introduces the concepts, problems and tensions central to an understanding of the product liability debate. These issues recur throughout the article. Part II outlines the development of product liability law in Europe and assesses the impact of the European Directive on Product Liability. The “product liability crisis” in the United States is discussed in Part III, which looks at the law's development and proposals for reform. In Part IV the United States and European positions are compared and the case is made out for a global uniform product liability law which recognises the social responsibility of the producer towards those injured by his products.

Examines the ideological nature of competence‐based approaches to the management training of nurse managers. Explores the transition required from a “clinical” identity to a managerial one. Employs Habermas’ theory of communicative action to analyse the ideological features and to provide a way of reflecting on the nature of the professional identity they are being encouraged to accept. Indicates some further avenues for research.

At a meeting of the Council of the Royal Borough of Kensington on February 29th, ALDERMAN A. G. McARTHUR, Chairman of the Public Health Committee of the Council, brought up a Report as follows— “We have received replies from nineteen City and Borough Councils to the circular letter addressed to them by this Council protesting against the suggestion made by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries that, before proceedings under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts are instituted on analytical evidence in respect of milk there should be a preliminary investigation by an officer of the Local Authority, or that the milk producer should be given an opportunity of offering an explanation.

A representation in relation to a sale—written or in advertisements, films or labels or in the spoken word—may be (a) a mere expression of opinion or commendation by a seller of his wares; or (b) it may constitute part of the description of the thing sold; or (c) consist of a warranty. The law allows a certain latitude in the efforts to gain a purchaser; does not insist on the absolute truth of the commendatory expressions habitually used to induce people to buy. The flourishing expressions used by auctioneers and estate agents—“ this superlatively appointed residence ”—are commonplace examples of this recognised “puffing” of wares. “ Puffing ” in relation to sale is merely an extension of the everyday usage of accepting half‐truths, untruths or the conventional evasion of truth; even as part of the bedside manner, the splendide mendax, of the doctor! What constitutes the upper limit of permissible misrepresentations such as these is by no means clear, either in civil law or in the growing body of statutory law regulating trade descriptions and advertisements of recent years, for here, as with so much law relating to sale, there is that same cleavage between civil rights of action and prosecutions to inflict penalties for statutory offences.

In order to succeed in an action under the Equal Pay Act 1970, should the woman and the man be employed by the same employer on like work at the same time or would the woman still be covered by the Act if she were employed on like work in succession to the man? This is the question which had to be solved in Macarthys Ltd v. Smith. Unfortunately it was not. Their Lordships interpreted the relevant section in different ways and since Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome was also subject to different interpretations, the case has been referred to the European Court of Justice.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the way gender may be used as an instrument to avoid New Public Management (NPM) potential processes of deprofessionalisation in nursing.

In total, 83 nurses with managerial duties were interviewed in autonomous and corporate public hospitals in Portugal.

Nurses used gender as an argument to legitimate their presence in management, and in this way, to keep their control over the profession. Gender stereotypes were used to legitimate their position in two different ways. Firstly, nurses reproduced and reinforced gendered inequality by supporting their male colleagues careers. Secondly, they valorised their feminine skills sustaining that women were in better position to manage hospitals as an extended role from the private domain.

The paper uses a sample from only one country and care must be taken when extrapolating conclusions to the wider population.

Acknowledges the way NPM reinforces gender stereotypes and contributes to redefine professionalism.

Recognition of the complexity and diversity of gender issues in the organisational context and in the structuration of professional legitimacy.