Human factors in agricultural management in East Africa

Many attempts to introduce change into farming systems have resulted in dependence, alienation, resource immobility and the suppression of indigenous adaptation techniques. Dr Mbithi evaluates the social and management environment of farm decision making and shows how this has lead to other serious social and psychological problems. His suggestions for a possible reorientation in rural development strategies include a re-examination of farm management and production models formerly dominated by agricultural economists, a revision of the concept of technology and a total rejection of the ‘trickle-down effect theory’.     

Relating in business networks: Innovation in practice

Few studies have looked at the innovation process in the early stages of new business ventures in the context of business networks. Reporting on eight years of development of a new venture, we examine how the development of initial business relationships in an ever-changing business network affects technological innovation. We conclude that technological innovation is contingent on the development of business relationships that are a critical mechanism permitting a new venture not only to access but also to produce knowledge essential for innovating. For management this implies the need to strike a judicious balance between internal focus and closure to produce novel solutions and external focus and openness to experiment in business relationships.     

Conceptual problems in nutrition education in Western Nigeria

A pilot survey of the factors affecting infant feeding practices in rural Western Nigeria highlights intercultural perceptual problems. Results show widespread use of imported, high cost carbohydrate foods and great resistance to the early introduction of local health protective items. It is commonly thought that "too much food" is bad for a child. Staff responsible for health education are held in a degree of disrepute not conducive to the acceptance of their educational efforts in the community. Recommendations include control of advertising; reviewed staff orientation and training; and an intensive campaign to reestablish breast feeding as the cultural norm. No data is presented on feeding of fluids (breast milk, additional milk, boiled water and glucose in water) and nonfluids (imported carbohydrate, local carbohydrate, local protein and fruits and vegetables) based on the mother's estimate of the age of a baby shown in a photograph. Approximate market prices of imported commodities commonly used for infant feeding in the study area are also included.     

Managing value in use in business markets

Suppliers in business markets are increasingly providing complex offerings, which is reflected in concepts like hybrid offerings, servitization and solution business. Such complex offerings are characterized by value propositions in which the value that emerges throughout the entire customer usage cycle builds the core element. To secure and increase this value in use, as perceived by the customers, suppliers need to establish activities of value-in-use management. This value-in-use management comprises monitoring the delivery of the promised value, and enhancing customer value in use throughout the entire lifecycle of a complex offering. This article investigates which value-in-use management activities are currently implemented by suppliers, how these activities are linked to other business processes, and what differences in value-in-use management activities exist between various types of complex offerings. By addressing these questions, this research contributes to literature by exploring post-deployment processes that affect value in use customer experience when using complex offerings. Moreover, from a managerial perspective, it reveals in which constellations measures of value-in-use management are currently implemented in practice and therefore are of particular importance. Furthermore, the results of the study may serve as a starting point to elucidate how measures of value-in-use management can be implemented successfully.     

Innovation policy in progress. Institutional intermediation in public procurement of innovation: satellite telecommunications in Italy

This paper aims to explore a mechanism of institutional intermediation to sustain public procurement of innovation. By exploring the development of innovative solutions for telecommunications satellites in Italy, this study proposes an analytical view on the role of supporting institutions in public procurement of innovation and discusses the relation between the source of public demand and the contracting companies. Eventually, it argues that a public agency can manage funds, coordinate companies’ technological capabilities, and stimulate a sense of cooperation to achieve innovation. The research finds originality in bringing the growing theory concerning public procurement into a dynamic institutional setting to discuss the emerging role of the public competent costumer. The case-analysis shows how institutionalization of an innovation intermediary enables efficient procurement. Propositions prescribe powerful instruments for dealing with market uncertainty and technological complexity, and find the agency to act as a knowledge intermediary and companies coordinator.     

Human rights in nutrition and nutrition in human rights

Many countries around the world are involved in nutrition planning and nutrition program implementation. This concern and activity with regard to nutrition, however, has failed to give the issue proper and adequate consideration in development plans and programs of action. The author proposes a two-pronged approach to promote nutrition as a human right. One approach is to include nutrition as a human right in educational and training programs in nutrition. Another approach is to include nutrition as a human right in educational and training programs on human rights. These approaches are described using examples from experiences in the Philippines. Families, universities, and other training institutions have roles to play in making sure that individuals and groups receive the nutrition they need. It should be stressed that nutrition is both a right and an input for development.     

Bargaining Levels and Relative Earnings in Northern Ireland in 1987

Individual level data is used to consider the effects of the union mark-up on earnings in Northern Ireland and in particular to find out if a differential exists between bargaining groups as well as across covered and not covered workers. The results show that company (and to a lesser extent, UK industry-wide) agreements have a much lower mark-up than might be deduced by simply analysing mean wage levels across groups. This suggests that most of the differential is actually the result of a productivity advantage attached to (these) covered workers and not because of union power per se.     

Perspectives on pupil creativity in design and technology in the lower secondary curriculum in England

This paper is based on work carried out as part of a research study into the professional practices of secondary design and technology teachers in England. It focused on fostering creativity or teaching for creativity as defined by the Robinson Report (1999, All our futures: creativity, culture and education. London: Department for Education and Employment (DfEE)) for pupils aged 11–14 years. The overall research question that drove this study was “to what extent can teachers influence the creativity of pupils aged 11–14 years in design and technology lessons?” The paper provides the basis used to generate a unique theoretical three-feature model or framework that can be used to explore creativity within an educational context.The findings of three investigations in the study are presented in this paper. The first and second investigations looked at what could be learnt from the professional practices of art and design and design and technology teachers and the views of four ‘expert’ teachers known for their ability to develop the creative potential of their pupils. The data is discussed under emerging themes and it is used to inform specific criteria in the evolving theoretical three-feature model for creativity. The model is then used to analyse the data from the third classroom based investigation and the findings are discussed under the emerging themes to help identify the issues related to fostering creativity within the design and technology classroom.This paper discusses the implications of the research for classroom practice and suggests that, as creativity is a complex, multi-faceted concept and process, the theoretical three-feature model and related criteria evolved in the study provides a sound framework to explore creativity within an educational context. As a tool it helps identify examples of good practice and highlight areas that require further attention by teachers aiming to foster their pupils’ creativity. It is suggested that design and technology teachers have lessons to learn from the practices of their art and design colleagues and ‘expert’ design and technology teachers. It is concluded that there is a need for greater understanding by teachers of their implicit theories regarding teaching, learning and creativity. A wider use could be made of the breadth of strategies outlined by the ‘expert’ teachers. This would help address the weakness identified in the school based study and strengthen classroom practice when teaching for creativity.     

Portfolio assessment in practice in engineering

Summary A portfolio assessment scheme, introduced for one course in 1990 in the School of Engineering, Sheffield Hallam University is proving to be both a stimulus and support for change. The scheme is described and its impact discussed in terms of staff development, the student experience and curriculum development.     

Biases in demand analysis due to variation in retail distribution

Aggregate demand models typically assume that consumers choose between all available products. Since consumers may be unwilling to search across every store in a given market for a particular item, this assumption is problematic when product assortments vary across stores. Using supermarket scanner data for five product categories we demonstrate that approximately one third of products have limited retail distribution, which account for one fourth of dollar sales. Monte Carlo analysis demonstrates that the level of limited product availability observed in the data can significantly bias the results of aggregate demand models that incorrectly assume all consumers in a given market face the same choice set.     

Practice and potential in engineering education in Germany

English abstract In a long-term study, our research has shown that young engineers in industry experience a lack of knowledge, skills and competencies in nearly all non-engineering areas of work. Hence we have implemented within our university, educational innovations to improve this situation. These include the provision of an industry forum and course in which students work in small groups in a project which is a real life problem.

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German abstract In einem mehrijährigen Forschungspojekt Konnten wir zeigen, daß jungingenieure in der Industrie Defizite im Bereich nichttechnischer Ausbildung-sinhalte erfahren. Deshalb haben wir in unserer Hochschule zusätzliche Programme Für Studierende der Ingenieurwissens-chaften eingeführt.

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Hans Wankum and Dietrich Brandt Centre of Research and Development in Higher Education (HDZ) University of Technology (RWTH), Aachen, West-Germany.     

Inter-firm collaboration in new product development in Chinese pharmaceutical companies

High-tech firms increasingly rely on inter-firm collaboration (IFC) in new product development (NPD). While there is a growing research interest in exploring the economic rationale of IFC through the transaction cost economics (TCE) and the resource synergy of IFC through the resource-based view of the firm (RBV), little attention has been given to the institution-based view (IBV) that also has important implications for firms’ choice of IFC. In particular, how national institutional environment affects IFC in the NPD process remains under-researched. This study aims to contribute to the literature by extending our understanding of the role of IFC in firms’ NPD process, taking into account transactional, resource, and institutional factors. Based on a case study of two firms: a state-owned and a private pharmaceutical firm in China, our research identifies three key forms of IFC, which are dynamic at different stages of NPD and contingent upon an array of institutional, resource, and transactional rationales underpinning firms’ choice of different forms of IFC. Our study is the first one that investigates the role of IFC in the NPD process bringing together the IBV, RBV, and TCE perspectives.     

Factors Affecting Learning in Technology in the Early Years at School

The nature of progression in technology is still a matter of debate in technology education. While there is a growing research-based literature exploring the elements of technological literacy that might be appropriate measures of progression, little has been written about the factors that may influence both group and individual development of technological literacy. This article reports the findings of a longitudinal ethnographic study of the progression in technological literacy of 20 children during their first 3 years at school. It focuses on the factors that affected their learning in technology, and identifies a number of personal and systemic factors that affected progression in technological literacy. The implications of these findings for teaching, and for further research are then explored.     

An interactive perspective on business in practice and business in theory

For nearly a quarter of a century researchers engaged in business exchange have met on the annual IMP Conferences to share their experiences, with the phenomenon of interaction and business relationships; its sources, content and effect for the larger business landscape. This special issue’s selection of papers from the 2008 IMP Conference gives a nice illustration of the width and depth in this research. The issue includes considerations of interdependencies in dyadic business relationships, in connected business relationships and among business and non-business organizations. Finally, it includes a discussion of the emergences of research communities like IMP, and stresses the importance of the organically emerging interaction among researchers representing both similar and dissimilar theoretical and empirical interpretations of the dynamics of the business landscape.     

Skill changes in maintenance work in British Telecom: an alternative view

Here the author presents an alternative view of recent changes in skilled work in British Telecom to that provided by Roger Penn in a recent article in NTWE. In particular, he argues for a detailed analysis of changing work tasks, a clear definition of skill, and a greater focus on the changing distribution of tasks and skills between different occupational groups.     

Industrial Relations Climate in the Manufacturing Sector in Singapore

The objective of this study is to assess the state of workplace industrial relations climate in the manufacturing sector in Singapore. Based on a survey of 73 manufacturing companies in Singapore and subsequent intensive study of eight of them, it was found that the overall labor-management relations in the industry were good and had improved over the past few years. Union membership was reported to have increased and this was accompanied by a perceived increase in union role and influence on labor-management relations. The findings also highlighted the need to strengthen the communication processes among the three parties—workers, unionists and management.     

Skills and job commitment in high technology industries in the US

This article, based on a study of workers, engineers and managers in a sample of high technology firms in the US, suggests extensive skill dislocation, labour market segmentation and a lack of participation in production decisions. There is a crisis of organisation and commitment among employees in such firms.     

The Moderating Role of Tangibility in Synchronous Innovation in Services

A synchronous pattern of innovation as between technological and management innovation, for example, can help firms improve their performance. This article explores this idea with respect to servitizing companies that introduce service delivery innovation as a means of gaining competitive advantage. It finds that the degree of tangibility, an indicator of the firm’s position on the product–service continuum, affects whether and how managers recognize the need for management innovation when introducing service delivery innovation. Using a socio‐technical perspective in conjunction with insights from managerial cognition, the relationship between management innovation and two central types of service delivery innovation—technological and customer interface—is examined. Tangibility shapes the managerial cognitive structures that are related to the enterprise’s technical and social subsystems in a paradigm that is capable of demonstrating contrasting effects. Technological delivery innovation is related to management innovation in firms with high tangibility. Customer interface delivery innovation, on the other hand, relates to management innovation in firms with low tangibility. This study uses a sample of diverse firms with varying degrees of tangibility to provide support for this theory.     

Changes in food purchases at retirement in France

We estimate the impact of retirement on food expenditure and food quantities purchased, using detailed home-scan panel data on food purchases and household characteristics in France. We identify a causal relationship by exploiting the French legal minimum age for retirement as an exogenous shock to retirement behavior. Upon retirement, households significantly decrease their expenditure on food and the amount of food purchased. Households with lower pre-retirement income appear to be more severely affected. Our results indicate that the decrease in food quantities purchased at the aggregate level is driven by a decline in purchases of food from animal origins. A reduced consumption of animal based food products is likely to undermine the diet balance of retirees.