Perspectives on experiences of innovation: the development of an assessment methodology appropriate to construction project organizations

The UK construction industry is in the process of trying to adopt a new culture based on the large-scale take up of innovative practices. Through the Demonstration Project process many organizations are implementing changed practices and learning from the experiences of others. This is probably the largest experiment in innovation in any industry in recent times. The long-term success will be measured by the effectiveness of embedding the new practices in the organization. As yet there is no recognized approach to measuring the receptivity of the organization to the innovation process as an indication of the likelihood of long-term development. The development of an appropriate approach is described here. Existing approaches to the measurement of the take up of innovation were reviewed and where appropriate used as the base for the development of a questionnaire. The questionnaire could be applicable to multi-organizational construction project situations such that the output could determine an individual organization's innovative practices via an innovation scorecard, a project team's approach or it could be used to survey a wide cross-section of the industry.

A new theory of educational change - punctuated equilibrium: the case of the internationalisation of Higher Education institutions

This article argues for a new theoretical paradigm for the analysis of change in educational institutions that is able to deal with such issues as readiness for change, transformational change and the failure of change strategies. Punctuated equilibrium (Tushman and Romanelli, 1985) is a theory which has wide application. It envisages long-term change as being made up of a succession of long periods of relative stability interspersed by brief periods of rapid profound change. In the periods of stability only relatively small incremental changes are possible. The periods of transformational change may be triggered by external or internal influences. A recent study of the long-term process of internationalisation in higher education institutions shows evidence to support the theory: long periods of incremental change, events precipitating profound change and the failure of externally imposed attempts to change. Also, as the theory predicts, changes in collegial organisations are slower and more uncertain than changes in managed organisations.

Are definitions of adiposity appropriate for identification of cardiovascular disease risk in South Asian populations?

South Asian populations living in the UK have a high prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes which impacts greatly on the morbidity and mortality of this ethnic group. The identification of ‘at risk’ individuals is essential to initiate reventative treatment. However, this is considerably hindered by the lack of appropriate cut-off values for anthropometric measures. CVD risk is significantly higher at a lower body mass index (BMI) in many Asian groups compared with Caucasians and adiposity (particularly central deposition) is higher at similar BMI levels. The definition of adiposity in Asians needs to be firmly established and appropriate lower BMI and waist circumference cut-offs implemented in ethnic subpopulations to facilitate appropriate treatment strategies.

Working together? Parent and local authority views on the process of obtaining appropriate educational provision for children with autism spectrum disorders

Background: There is general agreement across all interested parties that a process of working together is the best way to determine which school or educational setting is right for an individual child with autism spectrum disorder. In the UK, families and local authorities both desire a constructive working relationship and see this as the best means by which to reach an agreement to determine where a child should be educated. It has been shown in published works 1 1. Batten and colleagues (Make schools make sense. Autism and education: the reality for families today; London: The National Autistic Society, 2006). View all notes that a constructive working relationship is not always achieved. Purpose: This small-scale study aims to explore the views of both parents and local authorities, focussing on how both parties perceive and experience the process of determining educational provision for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) within an English context. Sample, design and method: Parental opinion was gathered through the use of a questionnaire with closed and open responses. The questionnaire was distributed to two national charities, two local charities and 16 specialist schools, which offered the questionnaire to parents of children with ASD, resulting in an opportunity sample of 738 returned surveys. The views of local authority personnel from five local authorities were gathered through the use of semi-structured interviews. Data analyses included quantitative analysis of the closed response questionnaire items, and theme-based qualitative analysis of the open responses and interviews with local authority personnel. Results: In the majority of cases, parents in the survey obtained their first choice placement for their child. Despite this positive outcome, survey data indicated that parents found the process bureaucratic, stressful and time consuming. Parents tended to perceive alternative placement suggestions as financially motivated rather than in the best interests of the child. Interviews with local authority personnel showed an awareness of these concerns and the complex considerations involved in determining what is best for an individual child. Conclusions: This small-scale study highlights the need for more effective communication between parents of children with ASDs and local authority personnel at all stages of the process

Principal-agent issues in asset acquisition: UK institutions and their investment agents

This paper explores principal‐agent issues in the stock selection processes of institutional property investors. Drawing upon an interview survey of fund managers and acquisition professionals, it focuses on the relationships between principals and external agents as they engage in property transactions. The research investigated the extent to which the presence of outcome‐based remuneration structures could lead to biased advice, overbidding and/or poor asset selection. It is concluded that institutional property buyers are aware of incentives for opportunistic behaviour by external agents, often have sufficient expertise to robustly evaluate agents’ advice and that these incentives are counter‐balanced by a number of important controls on potential opportunistic behaviour. There are strong counter‐incentives in the need for the agents to establish personal relationships and trust between themselves and institutional buyers, to generate repeat and related business and to preserve or generate a good reputation in the market.