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21 – 30 of 201The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and…
Abstract
The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.
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Pauline Rafferty, Blaise Cronin and Lizzie Davenport
During the First World War, the Creel Committee, set up by President Woodrow Wilson, used the powerful weapon of advertising to disseminate information and shape public opinion…
Abstract
During the First World War, the Creel Committee, set up by President Woodrow Wilson, used the powerful weapon of advertising to disseminate information and shape public opinion. Creel promised Wilson ‘a plain publicity proposition, a vast enterprise in salesmanship, the world's greatest adventure in advertising’. This campaign, with memorable adverts such as Courtauld Smiths' Red Cross poster, ‘The Greatest Mother in the World’, and James Montgomery Flagg's self‐portrait of Uncle Sam declaring ‘I want YOU for the US Army’, was a great success for advertising technique and enhanced the status of the tyro profession. It also showed how effective advertising could be in persuading and swaying mass opinion. A ‘Printer's Ink’ editorial of 1917 clearly shows that the relationship between advertising and control has been, perhaps for the first time, fully exploited, and fully appreciated:
Helena Gosling and Rowdy Yates
The purpose of this paper is twofold: to reflect upon what the global therapeutic community (TC) movement has learnt from coronavirus and to consider how TCs will continue to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold: to reflect upon what the global therapeutic community (TC) movement has learnt from coronavirus and to consider how TCs will continue to adapt and evolve in a post-pandemic climate.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a viewpoint paper based on the authors’ participation in an international learning event whereby speakers from TCs from around the world spoke about how they adapted their services to overcome adversity.
Findings
The findings are usefully thought out as shelter, creativity, reintegration and employment, technology and roots. Based on the material discussed in the learning event, it would seem that the global TC movement has engaged in a process of looking to the past to move forward by drawing upon founding principles and prescriptions of the TC tradition, rooted in humanistic and indeed humanitarian responses to staff, client and sociocultural needs.
Originality/value
According to the author, this paper is one of the first attempts to capture how TCs from across the globe have responded to the threat of coronavirus.
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Loise Waikayi, Colm Fearon, Lynn Morris and Heather McLaughlin
Increasingly, post credit crunch, organisations are seeking to develop new ways of attracting, recruiting and retaining staff in the UK high street for less or even no financial…
Abstract
Purpose
Increasingly, post credit crunch, organisations are seeking to develop new ways of attracting, recruiting and retaining staff in the UK high street for less or even no financial reward. The aim of this paper is to investigate volunteerism and volunteer management, based on an exploratory case study of two British Red Cross (BRC) shops. It also aims to examine the reasons why people volunteer and why they keep doing so in the context of BRC, as a charitable organisation.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory case was used to gain an insight into how BRC recruit and retain volunteer staff. This was achieved by interviewing volunteers and the shop management personnel. An overview of BRC structures, strategic direction and views on volunteerism is also developed as part of the case study.
Findings
Exploratory findings from the research show that people decide to volunteer mainly for a variety of reasons such as social interaction, to carry out work that is valued in the local community and for self‐satisfaction. Volunteer satisfaction is derived from helping BRC to help others and also being part of The Red Cross. Volunteer retention is attributed to a proactive management style in terms of creating a favourable work environment. The shop manager's leadership skills are crucial in establishing a friendly and positive attitude towards volunteers. In addition, youth volunteers are attracted in order to gain work experience and learn new skills.
Research limitations/implications
The study is exploratory, based on preliminary interview findings from 17 informants in two BRC shops. However, the insight gained helps in understanding the reasons why volunteerism is successful within the BRC.
Practical implications
The paper can help policy makers reflect and decide on useful tactics and strategy for developing and improving volunteer management within the retail sector.
Originality/value
There is a paucity of literature in relation to retailing and volunteerism and this study contributes to the literature by identifying reasons why this charity has been so successful in attracting and retaining volunteers.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the leisure information behaviour of motor sport enthusiasts, examining: their information needs; their information seeking and sharing;…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the leisure information behaviour of motor sport enthusiasts, examining: their information needs; their information seeking and sharing; what personal information they had; and their satisfaction with their information seeking and personal information management efforts.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory study examined participants’ information behaviour from a postpositivist and inductive research approach. An online survey was completed by 81 motor sport enthusiasts. The quantitative survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics, whilst the qualitative data were analysed using thematic coding.
Findings
The research findings highlighted that enthusiasts engaged in mixed serious leisure. They required information before, during and after race events, and sought this primarily from online sources, as well as from other individuals. Totally, 90 participants shared information about their interest in motor sport with family, friends and fellow enthusiasts, primarily via e-mails (69 per cent) and Facebook (49 per cent). They also gathered information about motor sport, including photographs and memorabilia. Participants were satisfied with their information management strategies for their personal collections.
Research limitations/implications
Participants were limited to motor sport enthusiasts in Australia, hence findings cannot be generalised more broadly.
Practical implications
Understandings of enthusiasts’ information behaviour provide information management professionals with insights to work with this user community.
Originality/value
This study fills a gap in the literature about leisure information behaviour of motor sport enthusiasts in Australia. It identifies and provides a typology of the 12 categories of information needed by enthusiasts. Provides a preliminary motor sport information behaviour model guided by the conceptual frameworks of the everyday life information seeking model; general models on information behaviour; and the information problem solving behaviour model.
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Rose Jane Wilson, Tracey Chantler, Shelley Lees, Pauline Paterson and Heidi Larson
Relational autonomy proposes that persons are socially embedded, with decisions being made within social relationships. Through this theoretical lens, this article explores how…
Abstract
Relational autonomy proposes that persons are socially embedded, with decisions being made within social relationships. Through this theoretical lens, this article explores how the healthcare professional–patient relationship can affect pregnant women’s decisions to accept pertussis and influenza vaccines.
Hackney was chosen as the study site as it has very low vaccine uptake rates. In-depth interviews were conducted with 40 pregnant and recently pregnant women, as well as 10 healthcare professionals. Interviews explored experiences of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) health care and views towards vaccination in pregnancy. An observation of a consultation between a pregnant patient and her General Practitioners (GPs) was also conducted in order to understand how the vaccination discussion takes place.
The findings of this study indicate that advice from friends and family can greatly influence a pregnant woman’s vaccination decisions. The patient’s social context, including influences on her decisions, must be understood by healthcare professionals, so that discussions about concerns can take place. If close relationships with patients are formed, healthcare professional advice is more likely to be trusted. With support from healthcare professionals, patients feel competent, empowered to make the right decision for them, and are more likely to vaccinate.
This research will help to inform contextualised policies aimed at increasing vaccination acceptance and reducing inequality in access to vaccination during pregnancy in Hackney.
To the author’s knowledge, this chapter is the first to apply the theory of relational autonomy to views towards maternal vaccination and decision making. It provides valuable insights into how healthcare professionals’ interactions with their pregnant patients can influence vaccination acceptance. The chapter contains advice on how both healthcare professionals and policy-makers can include mothers in vaccine decision-making processes in more personalised ways, by adopting a dialogue that appreciates and understands the social processes around vaccination concerns.
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Sanjay Bhasin and Pauline Found
The purpose of this paper is to explore the interface between Lean strategy and organisational transformation by scrutinising the literature on why Lean strategies fail to be…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the interface between Lean strategy and organisational transformation by scrutinising the literature on why Lean strategies fail to be implemented and/or sustained.
Design/methodology/approach
As a conceptual and research paper, it develops a hypothesis. It encompasses philosophical discussions and comparative studies of others’ work and Lean thinking alongside its links to the principles, ideology, philosophy and underpinning values. The search involved a total of 1,931 articles spanning across 75 different journals. The content analysis approach suggested by Mayring (2004) was selected.
Findings
Successfully implementing Lean is more complex than often recognized within the literature, and the alignment between strategy and organisational transformation is repeatedly not undertaken. The investigation indicates policymakers need to view Lean as an ideology and not simply another process.
Research limitations/implications
This paper addresses the inaccurate representation in the concept of Lean as a strategy. While a major evolution has occurred comprising the inputs perceived as imperative for Lean success, a translucent empathy of its philosophy alongside an acknowledgement of the magnitude of the change and transformation necessary has been comparatively perplexing. This paper has implications for academic scholars of strategy and organisational change, as well as for practitioners seeking to implement organisational change.
Originality/value
Empirical evidence suggests that most Lean strategies struggle. Customers are becoming more demanding, markets are becoming more customised, and product life-cycles getting shorter are dictating that Lean needs to be embraced as an ideology.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the mid-career experience of female managers within a small higher education institution in the UK. It considers how managers manage “self”…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the mid-career experience of female managers within a small higher education institution in the UK. It considers how managers manage “self” within this phase of career.
Design/methodology/approach
This study takes an ethnographic approach to the exploration of experiences in mid-career. Using a relational approach it was possible to draw together new insights deriving from the data. A narrative approach provided the framework from which deeper insights were captured through detailed participant stories told in situ.
Findings
This study offers a deep analysis of the constructs of management experience as these are negotiated within mid-career. The priority of female managers in this study is directed towards the balance of home and work. There is less evidence of a desire for upward progression, instead the focus now shifts to the achievement of authenticity and balance.
Research limitations/implications
This study was conducted in the higher education sector in the UK which is noted for its increasing commercialisation agenda and low staff turnover. Undertaking comparable research in other sectors will provide further insights into the generalisability of findings. Managers in this study were wholly white, middle class and most are still working in the region in which they were born. A more diverse cohort may be studied to ascertain the importance attributable to balance of work and life across different groups.
Practical implications
This study presents some important areas of consideration for those involved in the support and advancement of female managers. Indeed, for those engaged in cognitive and developmental work this study provides rich and in-depth qualitative data that may prove helpful when formulating policy. It is of significance to senior managers within organisations and encourages attention towards executive development and organisational culture, both of which support the retention of talent within the organisation.
Social implications
This paper provides insights into middle and senior management practice that may be of use by policy makers in the wider higher education sector context, as well as in general management good practice discussions more widely. This study may also be of interest to aspiring female managers and those relatively new to their roles as they seek to position themselves to achieve a sense of authenticity within their organisations.
Originality/value
This study provides an empirical contribution to the study of female managers working within a small higher education institution in the UK. It provides deep insights into management practice at mid-career within the workplace and the way in which this is conceived in situ.
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Asma Al-Wreikat, Pauline Rafferty and Allen Foster
The purpose of this paper is to report the results and the methods of a study which applied grounded theory to the information-seeking behaviour of social scientists when…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report the results and the methods of a study which applied grounded theory to the information-seeking behaviour of social scientists when searching Arabic and English academic databases using both languages.
Design/methodology/approach
The research applied the grounded theory approach using search experiments and semi-structured interviews. Think-aloud protocol during the experiment was used to capture the data from the subjects to allow a detailed analysis for the experiment. The semi-structured interviews followed each experiment and were analysed using the Strauss and Corbin (1990) version of the grounded theory, as were the think-aloud protocols.
Findings
The results of the think-aloud protocols and the semi-structured interviews suggest that the information needs of the subjects varied depending on the language used. In addition, it was discovered that social scientists followed more tactics in searching the Arabic database for the same tasks searched in English during the experiment. This allowed more search strategies and search tactics to appear in seeking information in Arabic language. The study also proposed a model to account for the cross-language information-seeking behaviour.
Research limitations/implications
This study identifies and compares the information-seeking behaviour of the social scientists in Jordanian universities in searching both Arabic and English academic databases. Therefore, the findings of this study cannot be generalized to other Arab countries, unless there was similar context.
Originality/value
Few studies have investigated information-seeking behaviour using academic Arabic databases and proposed information-seeking behaviour models. No studies have compared information-seeking behaviour when using Arabic and English academic databases. The value of the current study arises by being the first study to identify and compare the information-seeking behaviour of social scientists by using grounded theory and proposing a cross-language information-seeking behaviour model.
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INTRODUCTION Computers and new information technologies have beyond question brought tremendous advancement in information storage and retrieval. In recent years, the traditional…
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Computers and new information technologies have beyond question brought tremendous advancement in information storage and retrieval. In recent years, the traditional card catalog has given way first to the COM (computer output on microform) catalog, then to the online catalog. Now, many libraries are shifting to the new capability in order to provide better and faster services to their patrons.