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How to describe, reliably and effectively, the quality of a continuous stream is a problem facing many companies in the chemical industry. The average quality estimated from an average of individual test sample values is most useful if its distribution is known or can be estimated. A simple extension of the Central Limit Theorem is given that provides a means of estimating the distribution which, when coupled with the variogram method of variance estimation of Saunders et al., enables the calculation of probabilities of closeness of lot mean to the nominal value. The result “sits well” with the current emphasis being placed on the importance of “conformance to target”.

This paper explores the experiences of women in Saudi Arabia who have been managed by other women, and examines how junior women perceive senior women's role in advancing their career.

The paper is based on qualitative data gathered using in-depth semi-structured interviews undertaken with 30 women working in Saudi public organisations.

This study's findings shows that the hierarchical relationships between women and their woman manager are complex due to a multifaceted web of contextual factors including sociocultural values, family values, religious beliefs and organisational cultures and structures. These factors shape the quality of relationships between senior women and their women subordinates. Also, this study reveals that there is solidarity and ‘sisterly’ relationship between women in the workplace that plays a role in facilitating women's career development and advancement. In addition, this study shows that despite senior women's having supported other women's career advancement, this support tended to be conditional and limited. This can have an influence on women-to-women work relationships, where such relationships can be described as being disconnected and fragile. Furthermore, the study depict that there is evidence of the existence of ‘Queen Bee’-like senior women who distance themselves from other women and block their career advancement. The Queen Bee phenomena can actually become a form of hierarchy that mimics the patriarchal structure and excludes women from serving at top management levels.

This paper provides an in-depth understanding of the hierarchical relationships between women in the workplace and how these relationships have an influence on women's career advancement. Therefore, the paper makes a valuable contribution to the scarce knowledge that currently exists within the field of management research in relation to women's career development – and the advancement of such research within the Arab Middle Eastern context. Also, the findings of this study could potentially inform practitioners and HR department personnel within organisations about the connections between women's hierarchical workplace relationships and women's career development and advancement.

When the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership (IIMHL) was developed, one of the hopes was that the exchange visits among international sites would stimulate the development of collaborative working relationships. This article reviews one such collaborative project, the development and implementation of a comparative study of assertive community treatment teams, or assertive outreach teams as they are called in the UK and New Zealand.

Competitive tendering in South Africa is often associated with procurement based on the lowest fee tendered. Previous research on this topic did not provide in-depth examinations of how pricing within consulting engineering companies was affected by competitive tendering nor did it illuminate the extent to which professional services were impacted by competitive tendering. This paper aims to examine the implications of competitive tendering on pricing and delivery of consulting engineering services in South Africa.

A survey research strategy with a questionnaire as the research instrument elicited qualitative data from 28 experienced consulting engineers in South Africa. Thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data from the questionnaires.

Three key themes were identified, namely: considerations when determining consulting engineering fees on competitively tendered projects; the impact of reduced fees due to competitive tendering on the delivery of consulting engineering services; and interventions to prevent unsustainably “low” professional fees. Many consulting engineers in South Africa still determine fees using fee scales, while other considerations include resources, project complexity, risk, etc. Most participants asserted that design optimisation/value engineering, training, meetings and construction monitoring were adversely impacted by “low” fees.

This paper provides in-depth qualitative feedback from experienced consulting engineers (most having more than 20 years’ experience) on a topical issue in the South African construction industry. Thematic analysis was a novel method of analysis that was not used previously in this area of study.

The objective of this study is to ascertain whether financial sector sustainability had any correlation with financial sector performance in Nigeria and recommend appropriate policy directions.

The study selected four major Nigerian banks namely Zenith Bank Guaranty Bank United Bank for Africa and First Bank of Nigeria as its sample and covered 2010 to 2019. Secondary panel data were obtained from the published financial Statements of the banks and subjected to analytical techniques of panel unit root tests descriptive statistics panel least square and Co-integration statistical techniques at the 5% level of significance.

The findings revealed that the exogenous variables (SUST) have significant Impact on the endogenous variable (ROA, ROE) in the short-run but insignificant in the long run.

The period covered was limited to 10 years and has an African development focus with emphasis on West Africa, Nigeria. However, the implication could be general to most or all economic and financial landscape. It shows that there is a correlation between financial sector sustainability and return on assets and returns on equity.

Monetary authorities should develop applicable annual performance sustainability framework for all banks; and set performance targets, that will be measured and monitored by appropriate regulatory unit periodically.

The financial sector survival is directly related to its contribution towards the survival and development of its host community and operating environment.

This approach is novel in the sense that its approach is practical and measurable, which most research work have not focused on.

The aim of this chapter is to emphasize the importance of archival material and how, despite its secondary nature, it is capable of providing first-hand information for researchers. By providing a variety of examples from tourism, hospitality and leisure, this chapter demonstrates how this underused data can be a valuable resource for these areas of study. In order to illustrate how to use archival material as data, a step-by-step process to analyzing archival photographs is provided. The chapter discusses the challenges and ethical considerations associated with using archival material while also providing suggestions for the use of this data source in future studies.