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Article
Publication date: 9 September 2022

Scott C. Manley, Ralph I. Williams Jr. and Joseph F. Hair Jr.

Given the positive organizational principles associated with total quality management (TQM) – customer focus, continuous improvement, and process management – one would assume…

Abstract

Purpose

Given the positive organizational principles associated with total quality management (TQM) – customer focus, continuous improvement, and process management – one would assume TQM's application is universally beneficial across businesses. Generally, research supports that notion. However, given resource limitations and shallow management teams in small businesses, there are multiple challenges in implementing TQM in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, small business leaders should benefit from knowledge linking other management practices to TQM’s positive effect on small firm performance, which enhances these leaders' return on TQM investment.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors apply partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to explore TQM’s effect on small business performance and how other management practices enhance that relationship. Specifically, the authors explore how a comprehensive strategic approach (CSA) – a higher-order construct consisting of strategic planning, goal setting, and financial ratio analysis – moderates the relationship between TQM and small business performance. Given the complexity of the authors' model, the application of higher-order constructs, and the exploratory nature of this work, PLS-SEM is well suited for this study.

Findings

Consistent with prior research, the authors found that TQM (also a higher-order construct, consisting of seven lower-order constructs) positively impacts small firm performance. In addition, the authors found that CSA positively moderates the relationship between TQM and financial performance.

Originality/value

TQM’s effect on small business performance is enhanced when leaders implement a CSA. In other words, when small business leaders strategically plan, set goals, and analyze financial ratios, TQM's positive effect on firm performance is enhanced. This finding provides business leaders insights for how to maximize the TQM investment return.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 1941

Heat treatment, in view of later knowledge, is seen to have other effects than to destroy or lower the vitality of micro‐organisms initially present; there are the more obvious…

Abstract

Heat treatment, in view of later knowledge, is seen to have other effects than to destroy or lower the vitality of micro‐organisms initially present; there are the more obvious changes of flavour and of consistency brought about by the partial cooking, but there are also the possible lowering of the vitamin potency and the still more subtle changes in the salts which may, after heat treatment, be rendered less available than in the raw product. The importance of these considerations cannot be too much stressed when it is remembered that heat treatment is, generally speaking, an inherent stage in the process of canning. It is the heat treatment which preserves the goods, the sealing of the can being merely a means of prevent re‐contamination. The chemist, no less than the physiologist, has been much concerned with the changes in foods caused by heat treatment as a method of preservation, and, as a result of his investigation, there is now a better understanding of the changes which take place, with a consequent improvement in the methods of processing. For a number of years, however, this country, in common with many others, has relied, in so far as its supplies of meat are concerned, on products preserved by “cold,” and the freezing of beef, the chilling of mutton, have made available to us the cattle of the Argentine and the sheep of New Zealand. Initially the processes employed were crude, the post‐mortem changes were imperfectly understood, conditions of storage, before, during and after shipment, were haphazard, and the methods of defrosting far from scientific. How far the methods have advanced, and to what extent the scientist has been concerned in the elucidation of the many problems, will be realised from the reports of the Food Investigation Board. It is not suggested that all the advance is due to the work of the Low Temperature Station a Cambridge—much has been done in other countries‐but the investigations carried out by the scientists a this station have been fundamental. Food producers in America were the first to realise the importance of the latest development in freezing, the advent of the “ Quick Freezing Processes ” marking a distinct advance in technique. When cellular tissue is normally frozen and subsequently defrosted, rupture of the cells may have occurred and the structure of the substance consequently partially broken down. When, however, the tissue is quickly brought down to a very low temperature, it is found that in many cases this breakdown in tissue does not take place. These principles have been applied to commercial installations, and fish, meat, fruit and vegetables so treated show on defrosting remarkably little change in character. Preservation by desiccation is a method employed for certain materials with great success. Sun‐drying of fruits (sultanas and dates, to quote but two) and the sun‐drying of cereal products such as macaroni is still practised. An important industry concerned with the drying of milk has developed in most milk‐producing countries, whilst dried eggs and dried egg‐albumin form important items of commerce. It is obvious that the object of concentrating such substances as fruit juices, milk and vegetables and animal liquid extracts is ideally to reduce the water content and obtain a product which, when the water is ultimately restored, gives a solution or material having the original taste, aroma and food value. The effect of heat is often, however, to change these characteristics, and although by the use of a vacuum the temperature to which the substance is submitted is lowered, changes still take place, and much of the aroma depending on volatile constituents is lost. To a very great extent this has been overcome by a method of desiccation which is essentially partial freezing, a method which has not yet received much publicity as it has only lately emerged from the experimental stage. The practical application of this principle is due to Dr. G. A. Krause, of Munich, who has invented and designed a dual process of concentration. In this process the liquid is first concentrated by freezing out water as ice, which is removed by mechanical separation in a centrifuge. By ingenious mechanical and regenerative devices this process has been made extremely efficient, the losses being only 1–2 per cent. of the original juice, although the efficiency is not maintained when the solids‐content of the product has been raised to 40–50 per cent. This liquid is then further concentrated by evaporation at a low temperature, about 10°–15° C. The differential evaporation of water as compared with the aromatic flavour constituents occurs because the removal of water as vapour at this temperature depends solely on the rate of diffusion of the molecules into the gas space. As water has a small molecule compared with the large molecules of the esters, ethers and alcohols of the flavouring substances, it escapes more readily ; the conditions of evaporation as given in the patent are all designed to aid this escape. A reduction in pressure may be used to speed up the process without interfering with the differential diffusion, and the provision of an atmosphere of small molecules (e.g., hydrogen) also has the same effect. A large surface for the evaporation is made by spreading the liquid as a thin continuously renewed film. The condenser is situated very near the evaporating liquid to remove the water molecules quickly (a distance of 3 cm. is the maximum diffusion path). The atmosphere may be circulated or disturbed to hasten the diffusion and, most ingenious of all, it may be blown towards the evaporating liquid when, if a velocity is used just greater than that of the heavy molecules leaving a liquid surface, the loss of flavour may be entirely eliminated while the rate of water evaporation is only reduced by 10 per cent. By these means a concentrate containing as much as 65 per cent. solids and capable of storage without deterioration at ordinary temperatures may be prepared, and 80 per cent. of the original vitamins retained. The use of refrigeration in the preservation of food has necessitated the use of refrigerated transport to complete the links between producer, manufacturer, retailer and customer. The variety of commodities and the different conditions they need create varying demands on the methods of insulating and refrigerating transport vehicles. The British railways have 4,000 refrigerated railway vans, and such vans, containing perishable produce, came regularly to England from Austria and Italy by way of the train ferries. These vans are designed for fairly high temperatures, 35–40° F., and long hauls, and use ice as a refrigerant. At the other end of the scale is the road vehicle, which may have a temperature as low as 0° F., but is only on its journey about 12 hours. It is in these road vehicles that the greatest advances have been made, for conditions in England do not justify the railways in expenditure on elaborate equipment. The early road vehicles were insulated boxes on a lorry chassis and were refrigerated by ice and salt, which was “messy” and caused bad corrosion of the chassis. The introduction of an eutectic solution, virtually a mixture of a freezing salt and water in a definite proportion, which was frozen as a whole in a sealed tank, was made some few years ago. This removed the “messiness,” conserved the salt and produced greater efficiency and a more stable temperature.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 43 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Book part
Publication date: 24 October 2016

Angela I. Canto, Megan A. Crisp, Helaine Larach and A. Paige Blankenship

While often considered a low incidence disability, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) among students are anything but low incidence occurrences. Furthermore, educators are often at…

Abstract

While often considered a low incidence disability, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) among students are anything but low incidence occurrences. Furthermore, educators are often at times not made aware that a student is injured; when informed, the information provided is generally limited or incomplete at best leaving educators unsure regarding what is needed for the student. In this chapter, information on TBI and its effects on students is provided. We also explore the history of inclusion, mechanisms for service delivery, accommodations and modifications for injured students, and transitioning and reintegrating students post-injury. Lastly, we provide a review of common barriers to service delivery and offer both proactive and reactive strategies to overcome those barriers.

Details

General and Special Education Inclusion in an Age of Change: Impact on Students with Disabilities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-541-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 17 January 2022

Yuxi Zhao, Elaine Arici, Kostas Galanakis and Piers Thompson

Studies have suggested that entrepreneurship is a key mechanism for rejuvenating and facilitating economic growth in deprived areas. To provide further understanding of the…

Abstract

Studies have suggested that entrepreneurship is a key mechanism for rejuvenating and facilitating economic growth in deprived areas. To provide further understanding of the persistently low entrepreneurial intentions found in deprived areas this chapter identifies key mechanisms and theoretical frameworks that link the formation of appropriate human capital to the prevailing environment, and that influences may flow in both directions. This contributes to the existing literature to provide a fuller understanding of interest to policy-makers of why past interventions have struggled to boost entrepreneurial intentions and where new interventions may be most effective in generating more positive entrepreneurial intentions in deprived areas.

Details

Disadvantaged Entrepreneurship and the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-450-2

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 24 November 2014

Wendelin Küpers

Based on a critique of reductive understandings of physicality, this chapter explores the significance of embodied materiality, the artefactual physical, the role of the living…

Abstract

Based on a critique of reductive understandings of physicality, this chapter explores the significance of embodied materiality, the artefactual physical, the role of the living body and embodiment in relation to ‘intra and inter’ practices of leadership from a phenomenological perspective. Using a phenomenological and cross-disciplinary approach, issues of an embodied physicality in leadership are systematically explored and implications discussed beyond physicalist empiricism and meta-physical idealism. Furthermore, the chosen phenomenological approach reveals problematising limitations of naturalist and constructionist approaches.

Following Merleau-Ponty an extended understanding of physicality as well as the significance of the co-constitutive role of embodiment, inter-corporeality and intra-action in and of leadership practices in organisational life-worlds are identified and discussed. Insights into the role of corporeal materio-socio phenomena and expressions of meaningful practices of leading and following are rendered. The chapter concludes by noting limitations and implications of embodied physicality and physical inter-becoming of ‘bodiment’ for a more integral and sustainable conception of leader-and followership in organisations. Through its specific post-dualistic approach the chapter provides an innovative perspective on the interrelations between living, material, bodily and embodied dimensions of physicality in leadership.

Details

The Physicality of Leadership: Gesture, Entanglement, Taboo, Possibilities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-289-0

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 1904

A FIRST attempt to give the dates of the introduction of printing into the various places in a county, generally results in an exhibition of the ignorance of the compiler…

Abstract

A FIRST attempt to give the dates of the introduction of printing into the various places in a county, generally results in an exhibition of the ignorance of the compiler. Further, when the information has not been systematically collected but simply forms part of a general collection of titles, relating not only to that county but to the country at large, the local specialist will probably quote vaguely of “rushing in where” he “fears to tread.” My only apology, and I consider it a perfectly valid one, for publishing the following notes on Essex printers and booksellers, is that no one else has done it.

Details

New Library World, vol. 7 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Book part
Publication date: 15 December 2016

Rachel Wexelbaum

The author of this chapter will explain how libraries define safe space through policies, procedures, and professional codes of ethics. The chapter will generate a history of the…

Abstract

Purpose

The author of this chapter will explain how libraries define safe space through policies, procedures, and professional codes of ethics. The chapter will generate a history of the concept of libraries as safe space, will explain how libraries attempt to create safe spaces in physical and online environments, and will show how library practices both help and harm patrons in need of safe space.

Methodology/approach

This chapter provides a review of the literature that illustrates how libraries provide safe space – or not – for their patrons. The author will deconstruct the ALA Code of Ethics and Bill of Rights to demonstrate how libraries remain heteronormative institutions that do not recognize the existence of diverse patrons or employees, and how this phenomenon manifests in libraries.

Findings

Libraries, either through their physical construction or through policies and procedures, have become spaces for illegal activities and discrimination. Populations who would be most likely to use libraries often report barriers to access.

Practical implications

Libraries should revisit their policies and procedures, as well as assess their physical and online spaces, to determine whether or not they truly provide safe space for their patrons. While libraries can become safer spaces, they should clearly communicate what types of safety they actually provide.

Originality/value

This chapter offers a critique of libraries as safe spaces, which will challenge popular opinions of libraries, and compel the profession to improve.

Details

The Future of Library Space
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-270-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1943

Scientists have often been accused of a desire to reduce the human diet to a pill or powder form “to be taken daily with water at meal times.” Whatever truth there might be in the…

Abstract

Scientists have often been accused of a desire to reduce the human diet to a pill or powder form “to be taken daily with water at meal times.” Whatever truth there might be in the allegation, it is an actual fact that more and more foods are being proved suitable for preservation in dried form. This is partially a logical development of the processes of food preservation, which are largely the concentration of food products for convenience in transport and storage, and partially the results of special war‐time demands. The need for concentrated nourishment is never greater than under conditions of war stress, and the present serious pressure upon Allied shipping facilities has further tended to increase the need for foods that occupy the least possible space. On the average, one pound of fully dehydrated food is the equivalent of fifteen pounds of the same product in its original form. Thirty dozen eggs in the shell, packed and created for shipment, occupy 2¼ cubic feet; dried, the same number take slightly more than one‐half cubic foot. The saving in ships and cargo space is obvious. While the problem of shipping space has been a major factor in the stimulated interest in dehydration, other elements in the existing situation have also had their influence. In Great Britain, under constant threat of invasion, it has been essential to build up reserve stocks of food throughout the country, often under storage conditions that are far from ideal. The serious shortage of tin has restricted the use of ordinary canning methods to foods which cannot, at the present stage of research, be preserved in any other form. A further stimulus has been given by the necessity of providing concentrated foods for paratroops and commando units, which must be entirely self‐sufficient when in action. Special rations are prepared which provide meals for two or three days, yet weigh only a few pounds. Drying is the oldest known form of food preservation, in fact it may be termed the natural method of preservation. Nature herself uses it. On the average, seeds, grains and nuts contain less than 10 per cent. of moisture, regardless of the amount which may be present at earlier stages of growth. The very existence of vegetable life from year to year is in the final analysis dependent upon this lack of moisture which inhibits the growth of bacteria and moulds. Perhaps by some accident, perhaps by imitation of the natural process, man early began to preserve food by drying, either in the sun or by artificial heat. Robinson Crusoe's raisins and the dried apples of our pioneer ancestors leap at once to the mind. Dried fruits and fish, jerked and smoked meats are all preserved by the removal of some part of their original water content. Sometimes this is the sole process, sometimes it is combined with other methods, as salting or pickling. In recent years, however, the preservation of foods by canning, refrigeration, and latterly by quick‐freezing has largely replaced the earlier method. Natural or artificial drying methods have in the past permitted the storage of food and the retention of a part of its nutritive value at the expense of flavour and colour. Everyone knows the difference between the flavour and texture of sweet corn in the milky stage and that which has ripened further, i.e., begun to dry out. In the case of such products we have largely come to prefer the dried flavour, even where we can know the so‐called fresh flavour. Some artificially dried or semi‐dried foods have, in fact, retained their place in the modern diet in direct competition with the fresh form, not as substitutes, but as independent food products in their own right. Such fruits as dates, figs, prunes and raisins are perhaps the best examples. No one expects raisins to take the place of grapes or prunes to have the same flavour as plums. These so‐called dried fruits are, however, really only semi‐hydrated. They retain from 20 to 25 per cent. of their moisture; only enough has been removed to ensure their keeping qualities. While they are a concentrated product, the process has not been carried to the point of complete transformation into the solid form. Jerked or dried meat and such products as pemmican are also among the oldest forms of preserved food, and jerked beef is still extensively produced in many countries. A more generally known form of meat product is meat extract. There are a number of famous brands, available either as a thick syrupy liquid or in a solid cube. The keeping property is implicit in its low water content, usually about 15 per cent. These extracts are prepared by removal of the fat and albumen, the addition of salt and evaporation in vacuum. One pound is ordinarily obtained from twenty‐five pounds of lean meat. Packing companies in the United States report that experimental methods of producing a true dehydrated meat, one which can be restored to its normal character, have been successful, at least in regard to beef. Pork is apparently too fat for such treatment. If the process works on a commercial scale as successfully as in the experiments, additional savings in shipping space will be realised. It is estimated that one ship could carry as much meat as ten cargo vessels were able to transport during the last war. Among other concentrated foods that go back to antiquity are the milk products, butter and cheese. These belong to the class which has little relation in either flavour or texture to the original from which they are made. Cheese is a product of fermentation as well as drying, while butter is additionally protected by salt and by refrigeration in storage and transport. Thus, while the removal of water is an important step in their manufacture, they cannot be considered dried foods. Recent reports from New Zealand indicate that butter is now entering this category. As a result of research which antedates the war, the New Zealand Dairy Research Institute has perfected a method of dehydrating butter. The British Government has contracted to purchase 20,000 tons during 1942 and 1943. A trial shipment of 400 tons was made last year and was well received. According to a report from the Canadian Trade Commissioner in New Zealand, the process was developed originally in order to reach markets not served by refrigerator ships. The dislocation of the shipping facilities between New Zealand and Great Britain has eliminated the usual means of sending butter. The new product, however, can be shipped as general cargo on any ship that may be available. The dried butterfat can be used directly by industrial food manufacturers and its conversion into table butter is simply adding a matter of water and salt. Not only will it serve a valuable war‐time purpose of providing Great Britain with needed fats, but it will also relieve the position of dairy farmers in New Zealand. After the war it is considered possible that the original purpose of marketing in countries without refrigerator service may continue to absorb available supplies.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 45 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1942

Although a sheet of viscose film, such as cellophane, is so compact in structure as to be quite airtight, experimental work has shown that water vapour can evaporate as quickly…

Abstract

Although a sheet of viscose film, such as cellophane, is so compact in structure as to be quite airtight, experimental work has shown that water vapour can evaporate as quickly from a vessel closed with it as from the open container. A wrapper composed of viscose film can be rendered impermeable to moisture vapour by covering the surfaces with a very thin layer of moisture‐proof transparent coating which often contains, as an essential ingredient, a small quantity of wax. It is wrappings of the latter “ moisture‐proof ” type which are normally used round cigarette cartons and often round biscuits and sweet packages. Unbroken films of wax are resistant to the passage of moisture vapour, and waxed papers are therefore largely used for the protection of foodstuffs. Not all waxed papers, or so‐called moisture‐vapour‐proof transparent wrappings, are satisfactorily impermeable to moisture vapour, and it is essential to test such materials to determine their actual protective powers. While complete protection against moisture exchange is advisable for most types of goods liable to dry out or for those which will deliquesce, it should be realised that there may be other factors that will prevent their being used. Some goods coated with cane sugar are found to keep best if in packings where they can “ breathe.” If, owing to a rise in temperature, the atmosphere in the moisture‐vapour‐proof wrapping should become saturated with moisture vapour, this would be deposited in droplets on the surface of the goods if the package were suddenly cooled. A dilute solution of sugar might be formed at the point of deposition, which would then be a favourable medium for the growth of aerial moulds and micro‐organisms. In many cases wrongly wrapped foods betray their deterioration by easily apparent signs, such as the hardness of bread, the stickiness of sweets or the odour of putrificd material. It is, however, quite possible for a loss in quality to occur which is only noticeable in flavour deterioration when the article is consumed, and an important instance of this is tea. Care must be taken that the wrapping itself does not impart a foreign flavour to the foodstuff packed in it, or induce one through permitting or accelerating chemical changes, such as oxidation (development of rancidity). Some of the transparent moisture‐vapour‐proof wrappings on the market have a strong flavour liable to contaminate goods wrapped in them, as have some waxed papers and ordinary “ boards ” used for cartons. Printing inks and adhesives used on cartons may also affect the flavour and odour of foodstuffs, unless properly chosen and properly used on the cartons. These odours will penetrate wrappers if the latter are not airtight, and instances are known where really expensive articles of food have been spoiled in flavour because strong‐smelling strawboards have been used as the foundation of the very elaborate and decorative boxes in which the foodstuff was packed. Rancidity development in fatty foods may be accelerated in several ways. It is well known that sunlight promotes the formation of rancidity, and fatty foods in ordinary transparent wrappings may deteriorate on this account. Attempts have been made to produce coloured transparent wrappers which will absorb the active light rays, and so prevent rancidity developing while at the same time allowing the goods wrapped to be visible. Some of these wrappers were so dark in colour that they were valueless for display purposes, but, according to advertised claims, some golden yellow transparent wrappers of good transparency and protective power are now available. There are available, however, wrappers treated with anti‐oxidants of the oat‐flour type which are claimed to arrest the development of surface rancidity of fatty foods packed in them. The last generation has seen the advent of scientific control and development in the catering business. Individual restaurants or hotels cannot afford to employ chemists, and with the exception of the large organisations owning a series of restaurants, the hotelier or restaurateur has to rely on the efforts of consultants or on the makers of the plant and machinery installed in his establishment. This help has been very valuable particularly as the amount of mechanical aids in restaurant kitchens has become during the last half century very considerable. Such devices as mechanical beaters or whippers, small doughing machines, mechanically or electrically controlled refrigerators, are but examples. Possibly one of the most interesting developments has been in the installation of mechanical washing machines for plates, dishes, cups, knives, etc. The number of pieces of china and cutlery is perhaps not appreciated. The modest two‐course lunch means that twelve articles, all of different sizes, shapes or materials of construction, must be washed; the seven‐course dinner requires 30–40 articles. The organisation to provide these articles in a steady stream sufficient for the needs of some hundreds of customers in the course of an hour or so must be very complicated, and one of the important cogs in the machine is “ washing up.” In the domestic scullery, unless particular precautions are taken, hot, hard water and soap are taken, and, by their admixture, produce a shiny scum which is mixed up with the soapy water. This scum and the water itself become loaded with grease during the washing process and the china is removed, carrying on its surface dirty, greasy, soapy water with its complement of soap scum. These are then wiped off with a drying cloth clean at first, but becoming gradually impregnated with grease, soap and scum, with the result that the surface of the china is finally covered with a thin transparent film of these objectionable substances. If the china, after removal from the wash‐bowl and when still wetted with grease‐laden soapy water, were rinsed under the hot tap until all this wash water were removed and replaced by clean hot water, and the china were then allowed to dry of its own accord, it would be chemically free from grease and would require no polishing. It would, moreover, not have to be handled at all. The essential factors of mechanical washing are therefore : (1) A detergent treatment that will emulsify all greasy substances and dislodge adherent food debris. Soap and suitable alkalis are used in this treatment. (2) A rinse treatment using clean hot water that will remove all detergent water from the china. (3) A drying treatment that is spontaneous and is carried out without touching the articles. Thus the production of washed articles entails a machine washer supplied with hot, softened water and suitable detergents; controls of rate of water supply, temperature, injection of detergent and rate of movement of china through the machine are of course all automatic. Treatment is generally in four stages—first a detergent treatment by high pressure jets, then a first and a second rinse treatment again by pressure jets, and finally a last rinse treatment provided by the incoming clean, hot, softened water taken directly from supply. The clean china is now so hot that within a few seconds of its emergence from the machine it is dry. It is then ready for use. It is only within the last century that “ gastronomy ” has been popularised, for the bulk of the population is now catered for with more care than ever before. The presentation of meals has advanced enormously, and the palatability of food has been studied with far more concern than ever before. Palatability, the controlling factor in eating, is a complicated attribute, and includes all those factors which can be considered as appealing to the senses. Sensation‐producing qualiites are odour, flavour, texture, temperature and appearance, appearance including form, design, size and colour. Palatability is no sure guide to food selection—“ Eat what you like and you need have no further concern about your food ”—modern scientific thought has demonstrated the fallacy of such a statement; nevertheless there are more factors of importance than the “ completeness ” of a food. To be informed that a mass of food contained all the necessary factors for proper nutrition has no effect on the gastric secretions, but the odour of a frying steak may make the mouth water : a badly baked meat pic, no matter how nutritious, lacks the appeal of one with the colour properly developed. This catering for masses of people has raised a number of important questions which the chemist has answered in many cases. As in the case of chain‐stores, where the public expects to get the same goods at the same price, be they purchasing in Manchester or Sidmouth, so in the case of chain‐restaurants the public demand the same standard of goods wherever they may happen to be eating. The consequence of this is that the cooking of a potato, the roasting of a joint, the frying of a fillet of fish, the production of a poached egg on toast, have to be standardised, and the chemist has collaborated with the engineer to produce the plant and machinery which will ensure, within reasonable limits, that the public be satisfied in so far as this consideration is concerned. Only a scientist can answer such questions as : for how many hours and under what conditions may a tin of sardines be kept after opening? What is the “ life ” of a meat pic in summer and what in winter? How long can Russian salad prepared under standard conditions be kept? What are the best conditions for the preparation and keeping hot of boiled cabbage : Incidentally the scientist has been forced to give attention to many problems outside the realm proper of food : for example, the standardisation of the crockery and glasses to reduce breakage to a minimum, the question of the colours to be used for the plates and cups and saucers, so that fading by the chemical treatment or by mechanical abrasion in washing or in general use be brought to a minimum. The solution of problems of the service of food in restaurants is not perhaps a spectacular field of work for the scientist, but, in view of the millions of meals served daily in England, its importance can hardly be over‐estimated. Such are some of the impacts of Science on Food. The sketch is naturally incomplete and many aspects have not been mentioned at all. The application of new scientific knowledge to food problems is continually assuming greater importance in the feeding of the people. This does not imply that science is supplanting the art of the chef; it may modify, perhaps simplify, the processes concerned with the preparation of food, but its main function is to interpret the principles on which the art is founded, and to adapt the accumulated knowledge to modern conditions.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1990

Eileen Drew

The subject of part‐time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialised economies where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total…

Abstract

The subject of part‐time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialised economies where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total employment. It is estimated that in 1970, average annual hours worked per employee amounted to only 60% of those for 1870. Two major factors are attributed to explaining the underlying trend towards a reduction in working time: (a) the increase in the number of voluntary part‐time employees and (b) the decrease in average annual number of days worked per employee (Kok and de Neubourg, 1986). The authors noted that the growth rate of part‐time employment in many countries was greater than the corresponding rate of growth in full‐time employment.

Details

Equal Opportunities International, vol. 9 no. 3/4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0261-0159

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