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States that flexible working methods are a permanent feature of the modern employment market; they offer companies cost savings and other benefits and it has been predicted that by the year 2000 one quarter of the British working population will be involved in flexible working. Many human resources departments are not prepared to meet these changes. Argues that human resources must adapt to these changes and see them as an opportunity.

Edmund Burke, the 18th century Irish orator said … ‘those who propose change should work hard to persuade a rational man that innovations or reforms would not end in damage or absurdity’.

Universal Robotics Systems is a small Palo Alto R&D company dedicated to the development of unique mechanical, electromechanical, and electronic devices for application to the fields of industrial robotics, robotics research, and rehabilitative robotics/ electronics. In the past 18 months, a number of projects have been brought to the working prototype stage. These are:

The work of David John Farmer has been recognized as critical to the Public Policy and Administration canon. Its impact has been far-reaching both geographically because of its international application and theoretically because of the vast array of public administration challenges it can help resolve. This paper uses the concepts of rhizomatic thinking and reflexive interpretation to describe Farmerʼs work. And because a critical piece of Farmerʼs work is a bridging of the gap between theory and practice, it formally introduces Farmerʼs research approach as Farmerʼs Method. This article is intended to serve as a useful tool for students, practitioners, and theorists in understanding the vast contributions of David John Farmer and the practical application of his work.

Research relying on laboratory protocol and case studies has demonstrated positive effects from cognitive conflict and controversy. Reported benefits have included better judgments, improved strategic decisions and a better understanding of others' positions. This study develops and assesses the psychometric properties of an instrument designed to examine decision conflict in field settings. This instrument was administered on site to 63 managers. Factors identified in the instrument were disagreement, openness, and control. Interestingly, the openness dimension was positively associated with job commitment. The control factor was inversely associated with job satisfaction.

Many firms have adopted one or more “radical” management remedies in a quest for breakthroughs in performance. But their goal of “discontinuous” improvements usually has an unspoken stipulation: change that causes breakdowns is not acceptable. A few innovative companies have found, however, that process and offering breakthroughs can't occur without carefully orchestrated management system conflict and breakdowns.

Aslib Library holds a collection of thesauri, subject headings and classification schemes which are used to answer members' enquiries about the existence of schemes for particular subject fields and many of which are available on loan for two weeks. Our policy is to acquire all significant English language publications and bilingual or multilingual items with English as one of the languages.

Leadership is one of the most complex and multifaceted phenomena to which organisational and psychological research has been applied. An evolutionary developmental perspective is used to create an evolutionary tree of leadership theory and reveal the path along which it has evolved. Nine evolutionary eras are identified, and requirements for a tenth era of leadership theory are discussed. These eras provide a broad framework for researchers and practising managers to categorise existing, and evaluate future, theories.

Avian influenza (AI) has prompted widespread poultry culls and retail changes. Traditional live poultry sales can increase risk for AI virus transmission. Attitudes and risk perceptions regarding these sales influence policy. The purpose of this paper is to report Hong Kong risk perceptions and attitudes regarding live poultry sales and central slaughtering illustrating population reactions to inform policy.

A total of 25 healthy Hong Kong adults completed grounded theory qualitative interviews regarding perceptions of live chicken sales and acceptability of central slaughtering. Taped interviews were transcribed and translated in to English and coded in parallel by the authors working independently, using grounded theory approaches.

The paper finds that hygiene efforts reflected confusion between bacterial contamination and influenza. Hand‐transmission was not recognized as a transmission pathway. Opposition to central slaughtering was based on concerns about loss of freshness, flavor, traditions and employment, and meat safety. However, opponents supported policy if it reduced infectious disease risk. Supporters emphasized improved food hygiene. There was considerable scope for further educational efforts. Opposition focused on losses rather than gains, consistent with theory. Supporters emphasized health benefits. AI transmission routes were confused, indicating need for clearer information about personal protective practices.

The paper is a qualitative report and awaits confirmation using a quantitative exploration. The data identified a number of barriers to acceptance of a central slaughtering policy, many of which were based on incorrect or limited understanding. Education can help remedy this.

The paper describes perceptions among Chinese people towards a public health initiative, revealing many objections are based on misunderstandings.