Characterisation of soils containing naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) using in situ and rapid laboratory techniques. Case study: South Terras, Cornwall

In situ analysis has become increasingly important for contaminated land investigation and remediation. At present, portable techniques are used mainly as scanning tools to assess the spread and magnitude of the contamination, and are an adjunct to conventional laboratory analyses. A site in Cornwall, containing naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), provided an opportunity for Reading University PhD student Anna Kutner to compare analytical data collected in situ with data generated by laboratory-based methods. The preliminary results in this paper extend the author‟s poster presentation at last September‟s GeoSpec2010 conference held in Lancaster.

Acceptable use policy and employee computer usage: case of Sri Lankan software development industry

Organizations introduce acceptable use policies to deter employee computer misuse. Despite the controlling, monitoring and other forms of interventions employed, some employees misuse the organizational computers to carry out their personal work such as sending emails, surfing internet, chatting, playing games etc. These activities not only waste productive time of employees but also bring a risk to the organization. A questionnaire was administrated to a random sample of employees selected from large and medium scale software development organizations, which measured the work computer misuse levels and the factors that influence such behavior. The presence of guidelines provided no evidence of significant effect on the level of employee computer misuse. Not having access to Internet /email away from work and organizational settings were identified to be the most significant influences of work computer misuse.

John Lewis Partnership lessons in logical incrementalism and organic growth: a case study and interview with the Chairman, Mr Charlie Mayfield

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how strategy is developed and implemented in an organisation with an unusual ownership model. Partnerships are not a prevalent form of ownership but as this case demonstrates they can be extremely effective. Furthermore this case demonstrates how logical incrementalism can be used to implement major strategic decisions. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on company documentary evidence and a semi-structured interview with Mr Charlie Mayfield, Chairman of John Lewis Partnership. A chairman has a helicopter view of business whose perspectives are rarely captured by strategy researchers. This case study offers an insight into strategic thinking of a chairman and chief executive of a successful company. Research limitations/implications – The case study and interview offer a unique insight into the rationale behind strategic decisions within a successful partnership that has grown organically in a highly competitive retail market without high gearing. Originality/value – This case study sheds light on strategic moves within partnership. Furthermore, very few case studies offer insight into the thinking of a chief executive who has successfully managed a business in a turbulent environment.

Interpersonal interaction and economic theory: the case of public goods

Interpersonal interaction in public goods contexts is very different in character to its depiction in economic theory, despite the fact that the standard model is based on a small number of apparently plausible assumptions. Approaches to the problem are reviewed both from within and outside economics. It is argued that quick fixes such as a taste for giving do not provide a way forward. An improved understanding of why people contribute to such goods seems to require a different picture of the relationships between individuals than obtains in standard microeconomic theory, where they are usually depicted as asocial. No single economic model at present is consistent with all the relevant field and laboratory data. It is argued that there are defensible ideas from outside the discipline which ought to be explored, relying on different conceptions of rationality and/or more radically social agents. Three such suggestions are considered, one concerning the expressive/communicative aspect of behaviour, a second the possibility of a part-whole relationship between interacting agents and the third a version of conformism.