Repurchase of renewal rights: A policy option for the National Water Initiative

Management of the Murray-Darling river system involves a large number of users with imprecisely defined rights, and an aggregate rate of resource use that is environmentally unsustainable. One possible policy response is to make formal or informal contracts with users, under which users receive current benefits in return for a commitment to forgo usage rights in future. In this paper, this issue is explored with specific reference to the possibility of repurchasing the renewal rights for irrigation licenses.

Consumer-identified barriers and strategies for optimizing technology use in the workplace

Purpose. This article explores the experiences of 26 assistive technology (AT) users having a range of physical impairments as they optimized their use of technology in the workplace. Method. A qualitative research design was employed using in-depth, open-ended interviews and observations of AT users in the workplace. Results. Participants identified many factors that limited their use of technology such as discomfort and pain, limited knowledge of the technology's features, and the complexity of the technology. The amount of time required for training, limited work time available for mastery, cost of training and limitations of the training provided, resulted in an over-reliance on trial and error and informal support networks and a sense of isolation. AT users enhanced their use of technology by addressing the ergonomics of the workstation and customizing the technology to address individual needs and strategies. Other key strategies included tailored training and learning support as well as opportunities to practice using the technology and explore its features away from work demands. Conclusions. This research identified structures important for effective AT use in the workplace which need to be put in place to ensure that AT users are able to master and optimize their use of technology.

INCENTIVO À LEITURA: UMA REFLEXÃO A PARTIR DA ANÁLISE DE PROJETOS DO COLE

Este trabalho teve por objetivo analisar os Cadernos de Resumo dos três últimos COLEs (Congresso de Leitura) - anos 2001, 2003 e 2005 -, mapeando os projetos de incentivo à leitura, para conhecer o que se produz no País sobre essa temática. A partir desse conhecimento, volto ao Projeto Vô Di - Leitores de Luz, por mim idealizado, buscando analisar seus fundamentos teórico-metodológicos. Por meio da análise dos projetos apresentados nos COLEs, procurei mapear as atividades, os referenciais teóricos e os objetivos utilizados, evidenciando o que é produzido no Brasil e mesmo internacionalmente sobre leitura, a incidência dos projetos na educação formal e na educação não formal e a quantidade de projetos que são voltados às séries iniciais do ensino fundamental, ao ensino médio, aos cursos de graduação, aos cursos de especialização e às ONGs. Um dos resultados deste trabalho é a constatação de que houve uma grande mudança na incidência de projetos da educação formal para a educação não formal, sendo que a maioria dos projetos de incentivo à leitura são desenvolvidos, no COLE, pelas ONGs.

O ESTUDANTE DA EAD (EDUCAÇÃO A DISTÂNCIA): UM ESTUDO DE PERFIL E INTERAÇÃO GERACIONAL

A aprendizagem formal e tradicional tem dado lugar a um cenário desafiador no qual educador e educando não comungam do mesmo espaço físico. A Educação a Distância (EAD), ainda é vista como uma solução que agrega cada vez mais alunos de diferentes idades que desejam uma graduação de ensino superior ou a continuidade dela. A pesquisa com o título: “O estudante da EAD (educação a distância): um estudo de perfil e interação geracional” propõe conhecer as características do perfil atual do estudante da EAD, abordando o diálogo entre as gerações no ambiente social escolar. O enfoque da pesquisa é qualitativa, exploratória e descritiva com dados que foram coletados através de entrevista com 08 alunos das gerações X e Y para assim entender se este perfil tem sido renovado com alunos mais jovens, do que a faixa etária de 25 a 45 anos. O resultado demonstra que alunos na faixa de 17 a 24 anos a cada ano aumentam 1% das matrículas. Já a faixa de 25 a 45 anos prevalece com 70% das matrículas. Portanto, este resultado revela que o perfil do aluno EAD ainda é o do jovem adulto, para adulto mais experiente, que busca a graduação com o propósito de progressão no ambiente profissional. As duas gerações citadas geração X e geração Y, mesmo em contextos históricos diferenciados de valores, crenças e comportamentos participam atualmente de uma transformação social que contempla os meios de produção do trabalho, a formação educacional e as relações sociais. O diálogo intergeracional direciona a um aprendizado compartilhado, participativo na troca de experiências mutuas. Para a geração X o jovem atual não é mais nomeado como o que precisa escutar e aprender, mas tem muito a partilhar, principalmente diante da facilidade com os meios tecnológicos. E para a geração Y, na partilha não há barreiras de idade, mas a segurança de interagir e se comunicar diante da troca de experiências

A study of strategic HR issues in an Asian context

Examines five strategic human resource management (HRM) issues using a qualitative methodology. Two of these are related to the central organisational-level constructs of structure and culture. The other three pertain to HR strategy, HR competencies, and HR outsourcing. The study employed the multiple-case design method proposed by Yin, with a view to extending theory in strategic HRM research. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 managers (CEOs, line managers, and HR managers) of nine companies from two major industries in the manufacturing sector – electronic products and machinery/equipment. The research found that top management enlightenment and level of HR competencies together determine the role and status of the HR function in organisations, and that the companies studied pursue four types of HR strategies: informal and not communicated; informal and communicated; formal but not communicated; and formal and communicated. HR strategy was found to affect both vertical and horizontal fits of the HR function. Culture, HR strategy and HR competencies influenced organisational propensity to outsource HR activities.

Cultural value orientations and HRM policies and practices:an empirical study of Oman

This study empirically examined the influence of cultural orientations on employee preferences of human resource management (HRM) policies and practices in Oman. Data were collected from 712 employees working in six large Omani organisations. The findings indicated that there were a number of cultural orientation differences among Omani employees based on age, educational and work experience. The findings showed a strong orientation towards mastery, harmony, thinking and doing, and a weak orientation towards hierarchy, collectivism, subjugation, and human nature-as-evil. The results have demonstrated a clear link between value orientations and preferences for particular HRM policies and practices. Group-oriented HRM practices were preferred by those who scored high on collectivism and being orientations, and those who scored low on thinking and doing orientations. Hierarchy-oriented HRM practices were preferred by those scoring high on hierarchy, subjugation and human nature-as-bad orientations, and those scoring low on thinking and mastery orientations. Finally, preference for loose and informal HRM practices was positively associated with being, and negatively associated with thinking, doing, and harmony orientations. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in detail.

Cultural orientations and preference for HRM policies and practices:the case of Oman

This study empirically examines the influence of cultural orientations on employee preferences of human resource management (HRM) policies and practices in Oman. Data were collected from 712 employees working in six large Omani organizations. The findings indicate that there is a number of differences among Omani employees regarding value orientations due especially to age, education and work experience. The findings show a strong orientation towards mastery, harmony, thinking and doing, and a weak orientation towards hierarchy, collectivism, subjugation and human nature-as-evil. The results demonstrate a clear link between value orientations and preferences for particular HRM policies and practices. Group-oriented HRM practices are preferred by those who scored high on collectivism and being orientations, and those who scored low on thinking and doing orientations. Hierarchy-oriented HRM practices are preferred by those scoring high on hierarchy, subjugation and human nature-as-bad orientations, and those scoring low on thinking and mastery orientations. Finally, preference for loose and informal HRM practices was positively associated with being, and negatively associated with thinking, doing and harmony orientations. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in detail.

Essential maths:for business and management

Assuming no prior mathematical knowledge, this approachable and straightforward text covers the essential mathematical skills needed by business and management students at undergraduate and MBA level. Clare Morris uses a clear and informal narrative style with examples, painlessly leading the reader through fundamental mathematical principles. "Essential Maths" spans basic arithmetic and algebra, and introduces readers to calculus and simple statistics, employing exercises and activities throughout to enable students to check their learning and reflect on their progress and understanding. Also available is a companion website with extra features to accompany the text, please take a look on http://www.palgrave.com/business/morris/index.html

The influence of utilising government initiatives, servicing foreign MNCs and internationalisation on strategic planning process of local companies in Singapore

This research focuses on two groups of local companies; namely, high-growth local companies and other local companies, to examine and compare the influence of utilising governmental initiatives, servicing foreign MNCs and internationalisation on their strategic planning process. The theme of this thesis argues that the approach of an organisation towards strategic planning is not only determined by the internal influences; namely, its firm size and the planning behaviour and attitude of an entrepreneur, as revealed in the literature, but it can also be affected by external influences. The theoretical contribution of this research determines this unique situation in Singapore, and tests the robustness of the conventional models of planning in smaller companies. As a result of the external influences, this study reveals that local companies are more likely to undertake a much more formal strategic planning than the conventional Western literature and models would indicate. High-growth local companies, in comparison, however, had undertaken a more formal and rigorous strategic planning process than other local companies.

Pre-conception care : current practice and methods of provision

This thesis examines the present provisions for pre-conception care and the views of the providers of services. Pre-conception care is seen by some clinicians and health educators as a means of making any necessary changes in life style, corrections to imbalances in the nutritional status of the prospective mother (and father) and the assessment of any medical problems, thus maximizing the likelihood of the normal development of the baby. Pre-conception care may be described as a service to bridge the gap between the family planning clinic and the first ante-natal booking appointment. There were three separate foci for the empirical research - the Foresight organisation (a charity which has pioneered pre-conception care in Britain); the pre-conception care clinic at the West London Hospital, Hammersmith; and the West Midlands Regional Health Authority. The six main sources of data were: twenty five clinicians operating Foresight pre-conception clinics, couples attending pre-conception clinics, committee members of the Foresight organisation, staff of the West London Hospital pre-conception clinic, Hammersmith, District Health Education Officers working in the West Midlands Regional Health Authority and the members of the Ante-Natal Care Action Group, a sub-group of the Regional Health Advisory Group on Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. A range of research methods were adopted. These were as follows: questionnaires and report forms used in co-operation with the Foresight clinicians, interviews, participant observation discussions and informal meetings and, finally, literature and official documentation. The research findings illustrated that pre-conception care services provided at the predominantly private Foresight clinics were of a rather `ad hoc' nature. The type of provision varied considerably and clearly reflected the views held by its providers. The protocol which had been developed to assist in the standardization of results was not followed by the clinicians. The pre-conception service provided at the West London Hospital shared some similarities in its approach with the Foresight provision; a major difference was that it did not advocate the use of routine hair trace metal analysis. Interviews with District Health Education Officers and with members of the Ante Natal Care Action Group revealed a tentative and cautious approach to pre-conception care generally and to the Foresight approach in particular. The thesis concludes with a consideration of the future of pre-conception care and the prospects for the establishment of a comprehensive pre-conception care service.

The formation and impact of hazard control policy:a study of the regulation of white lead paint in Britain

Government regulation of industrial hazards is examined in the context of the economic and technical processes of industrial development. Technical problems and costs of control are considered as factors in both the formation and impact of regulation. This thesis focuses on an historical case-study of the regulation of the hazard to painting workers from the use of lead pigments in paint. A regulatory strategy based on the prohibition of lead paints gained initial acceptance within the British state in 1911, but was subsequently rejected in favour of a strategy that allowed continued use of lead paint subject to hygiene precautions. The development of paint technology and its determinants, including concern about health hazards, are analysed, focusing on the innovation and diffusion into the paint industry of the major white pigments: white lead (PbC03 .PB(OH)2)and its substitutes. The process of regulatory development is examined, and the protracted and polarised regulatory d~bate contrasted to the prevailing 'consensual' methods of workplace regulation. The rejection of prohibition is analysed in terms of the different political and technical resources of those groups in conflict over this policy. This highlights the problems of consensus formation around such a strategy, and demonstrates certain constraints on state regulatory activity, particularly regarding industrial development. Member-states of the International Labour Organisation agreed to introduce partial prohibition of lead paint in 1921. Whether this was implemented is related to the economic importance of lead and non-lead metal and pigment industries to a nation. An analysis is made of the control of lead poisoning. The rate of control is related to the economic and technological trajectory of the regulated industry. Technical and organisational characteristics are considered as well as regulatory factors which range from voluntary compliance and informal pressures to direct legal requirements. The implications of this case-study for the analysis of the development and impacts of regulation are assessed.

Experimental investigation of inter-modal cross-gain modulation and transient effects in a two mode group erbium doped fiber amplifier

We report what we believe to be the first experimental study of inter-modal cross-gain modulation and associated transient effects as different spatial modes and wavelength channels are added and dropped within a two-mode amplifier for SDM transmission.

Critical practice and the public pedagogy of environmental and conservation media

This article addresses the reluctance of mainstream corporate and commercial media to critically address major environmental and conservation issues. The resulting public pedagogy largely reproduces the neoliberal ideology informing much conservation practice and discourse. Nonetheless, the media retains an unrealised critical educative potential that needs to be drawn upon by critical media practitioners and educators. To do this, educators need to be cognisant of the phenomenological experience of spectatorship, the aesthetic form and relational contexts of media consumption, production and informal learning. Referring to the work of Vivian Sobchack, Henry Giroux, Pierre Bourdieu and Gilles Deleuze, the article argues that if critical practitioner-educators apply an analytic framework informed by critical realism, counter-hegemonic elements found within corporate and independent media productions and conservation initiatives may be rearticulated and re-presented in a more positive manner. For this to occur, critical media practitioners-educators need to recognise that feasible political and normative alternatives are both available and practically possible. The article ends by discussing some relatively recent non-fiction productions that express a commonality between human and non-human animals and so form the basis of a critical environmental education-media practice.

Experimental investigation of inter-modal cross-gain modulation and transient effects in a two mode group erbium doped fiber amplifier

We report what we believe to be the first experimental study of inter-modal cross-gain modulation and associated transient effects as different spatial modes and wavelength channels are added and dropped within a two-mode amplifier for SDM transmission.

Disabling a family? Emotional dilemmas experienced in becoming a parent of a child with learning disabilities

Becoming the parent of a child diagnosed with learning disabilities can have a dramatic impact. Chrissie Rogers, the author of this article, is both a lecturer in education studies at Keele University and the mother of a daughter who has learning disabilities. She argues here that the pressures on mothers to produce ‘perfect’ babies and to meet all their needs are immense. These pressures arise from both internalised norms and societal expectations and, in the face of these pressures, parents may feel shock, loss and disappointment. These feelings may lead, in turn, to denial, anxiety and conflict affecting both the parents and the professionals involved with the family. Drawing on a series of in-depth interviews and personal narratives, Chrissie Rogers makes a powerful case for the importance of support, whether that support is formal or informal. She suggests that, without the right levels of support and understanding, having a child with a diagnosis of learning disability can disable the whole family.