Returned medicines:Waste or a wasted opportunity?

Background: Re-use of unused medicines returned from patients is currently considered unethical in the UK and these are usually destroyed by incineration. Previous studies suggest that many of these medicines may be in a condition suitable for re-use. Methods: All medicines returned over two months to participating community pharmacies and GP surgeries in Eastern Birmingham PCT were assessed for type, quantity and value. A registered pharmacist assessed packs against set criteria to determine the suitability for possible re-use. Results: Nine hundred and thirty-four return events were made from 910 patients, comprising 3765 items worth £33 608. Cardiovascular drugs (1003, 27%) and those acting on the CNS (884, 24%) were most prevalent. Returned packs had a median of 17 months remaining before expiry and one-quarter of packs (1248 out of 4291) were suitable for possible re-use. One-third of those suitable for re-use (476 out of 1248) contained drugs in the latest WHO Essential Drugs List. Conclusion: Unused medicines are returned in substantial quantities and have considerable financial value, with many in a condition suitable for re-use. We consider it appropriate to reopen the debate on the potential for re-using these medicines in developing countries where medicines are not widely available and also within the UK. © The Author 2007, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved.

An opportunity for system dynamics in manufacturing system modelling

The computer simulation of manufacturing systems is commonly carried out using discrete event simulation (DES). Indeed, there appears to be a lack of applications of continuous simulation methods, particularly system dynamics (SD), despite evidence that this technique is suitable for industrial modelling. This paper investigates whether this is due to a decline in the general popularity of SD, or whether modelling of manufacturing systems represents a missed opportunity for SD. On this basis, the paper first gives a review of the concept of SD and fully describes the modelling technique. Following on, a survey of the published applications of SD in the 1990s is made by developing and using a structured classification approach. From this review, observations are made about the application of the SD method and opportunities for future research are suggested.

Opportunity, fair process and relationship value:career development as a driver of proactive work behaviour

In line with recent findings from organisational justice theory, we hypothesised that employee proactive behaviour and careerist orientation is predicted by the interplay of perceived favourability of career development opportunities, the perceived fairness of the procedures used to decide them, and employee organisational commitment. Employees (N = 325) of a large financial services organisation responded to a self-completion questionnaire. As predicted, when career development opportunities were viewed unfavourably, perceived procedural justice was significantly and positively related to individual proactive behaviour and significantly and negatively related to careerist orientation but only when organisational commitment was high. It appears that high procedural justice may only 'offset' the negative effects of unfavourable career development opportunities when employees identify with, and are committed to, their organisation. Further support is presented for a relational, rather than instrumental, model of procedural justice when reflecting on employee reactions to their employers' policies and decision-making. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

An alternative measure of the ICT-Opportunity Index

We developed an alternative approach for measuring information and communication technology (ICT), applying Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) using data from the International Telecommunications Union as a sample of 183 economies. We compared the ICT-Opportunity Index (ICT-OI) with our DEA-Opportunity Index (DEA-OI) and found a high correlation between the two. Our findings suggest that both indices are consistent in their measurement of digital opportunity, though differences still exist in different regions. Our new DEA-OI offers much more than the ICT-OI. Using our model, the target and peer groups for each country can be identified.

Having your day in court:judicial opportunity and tactical choice in Anti-GMO campaigns in France and the United Kingdom

Investigating the recent direct action campaigns against genetically modified crops in France and the United Kingdom, the authors set out to understand how contrasting judicial systems and cultures affect the way that activists choose to commit ostensibly illegal actions and how they negotiate the trade-offs between effectiveness and public accountability. The authors find evidence that prosecution outcomes across different judicial systems are consistent and relatively predictable and consequently argue that the concept of a “judicial opportunity structure” is useful for developing scholars’ understanding of social movement trajectories. The authors also find that these differential judicial opportunities cannot adequately account for the tactical choices made by activists with respect to the staging of covert or overt direct action; rather, explanations of tactical choice are better accounted for by movement ideas, cultures, and traditions.

The opportunity recognition process:the mechanisms by which entrepreneurial opportunities are recognised and the role played by social networks in this process

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The effectiveness of an organisations' equal opportunities policy for the role and training of women, particularly in the fire service

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Integrating skills profiling and purchasing portfolio management:an opportunity for building purchasing capability

Kralijc’s (1983) purchasing portfolio approach holds that different types of purchases need different sourcing strategies, underpinned by distinct sets of resources and practices. The approach is widely deployed in business and extensively researched, and yet little research has been conducted on how knowledge and skills vary across a portfolio of purchases. This study extends the body of knowledge on purchasing portfolio management, and its application in the strategic development of purchasing in an organization, and on human resource management in the purchasing function. A novel approach to profiling purchasing skills is proposed, which is well suited to dynamic environments which require flexibility. In a survey, experienced purchasing personnel described a specific purchase and profiled the skills required for effective performance in purchasing that item. Purchases were categorized according to their importance to the organization (internally-oriented evaluation of cost and production factors) and to the supply market (externally-oriented evaluation of commercial risk and uncertainty). Through cluster analysis three key types of purchase situations were identified. The skills required for effective purchasing vary significantly across the three clusters (for 22 skills, p<0.01). Prior research shows that global organizations use the purchasing portfolio approach to develop sourcing strategies, but also aggregate analyses to inform the design of purchasing arrangements (local vs global) and to develop their improvement plans. Such organizations would also benefit from profiling skills by purchase type. We demonstrate how the survey can be adapted to provide a management tool for global firms seeking to improve procurement capability, flexibility and performance.

The Hargreaves Review : digital opportunity:a review of intellectual property and growth

In December 2010 the Hargreaves Review was asked to “develop proposals on how the UK's intellectual property framework can further promote entrepreneurialism, economic growth and social and commercial innovation”. It reported in May 2011. The Government published its response in August 2011. This is an overview of both the Review and the Government Response.