Corporate management and planning in local government

Following the U.K. Local Government Act (1972) the shire countries in England and Wales incurred increased responsibilities in regard to transport planning. From 1974, they were required to produce annual transport plans (TPPs) conveying all aspects of transport within each county, the level of the resulting planning effort being far higher than previously undertaken. As a consequence of examining the application of the TPP arrangements, a number of general issues about corporate management and planning emerged. This article considers these issues and examines the extent to which they have been and will be overcome.     

The formulation of mathematical programming models

Aims which a formulator has when building a Linear or Integer Programming model are suggested. Ways of achieving and resolving these aims are surveyed with a number of practical examples.     

An Industry-specific Study of Factors Contributing to the Maintenance and Longevity of Quality Circles

Lawler and Mohrman (1987), as others (Griffin, 1988; Marks et al., 1986), have associated a‘honeymoon effect’ (Lawler and Mohrman, 1987) or period of‘initial momentum’ (Solberg, 1985) with quality circle (QC) progress. They have been shown to be successful for about 2 years before there is a decline (Griffin, 1988). Focusing on a single synthetic rubber manufacturing facility, individuals who had participated in QCs at the site were surveyed. Because the QC programme had been in place for 7 years, this study sought to determine what factors contributed to that longevity     

Introduction: Challenges to the homogenization of “African American”

African American sociologists are beginning to confront the use of African American/Black as a homogeneous sociological category. In doing so they are laying the ground for improvements in social scientific research in general. One aspect of that improvement involves the use of people of African descent as subjects for theoretical statements about humanity at large rather than merely about other African descendent populations. Another aspect involves confronting the extensive segregation within the discipline around the research done by African American scholars. This introduction discusses the implications of these issues for African American scholars and for the discipline as a whole.     

Motivations for the inmigration component of population turnaround in nonmetropolitan areas

Data from a 1977 survey of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan origin households migrating to 75 high net inmigration counties of the Midwest are examined to consider the motivational basis for the inmigration component of post-1970 nonmetropolitan migration trends. Findings suggest that the major stated motivations for leaving places of origin, especially among those from metropolitan areas, are "quality of life" considerations. Abouth a fourth of the metropolitan origin migrants' and half of the nonmetropolitan origin migrants' reasons are job-related. Anti-urban push and pro-rural pull responses are prevalent among migrants from metropolitan areas. Subsequent analysis of reasons for leaving metropolitan residences suggests consistency with other objective variables. Among households with a working-age head, those leaving for "quality of life" reasons came disproportionately from the largest metropolitan centers and went to the smallest towns. Those moving for non-employment reasons are not more likely to have taken an initial income loss, though they are less likely to experience immediate income gains.     

分享教师的科研经验提高大学生的创新能力——以高压静电纺丝技术为例说明科研反哺教学途径

分享教师的科研经验,能够有效地实施科研反哺教学、促进大学生自我教育、主动学习、并提高他们的创新能力。以高压静电纺丝技术为例阐述如何通过科研有效地进行反哺教学,提出了五条增强科研反哺教学的途径:课程上多开设探索性实验课,给学生提供更多的分享老师科研经验的机会;多位老师协同教学完成一门课的教学,让学生分享更多老师的科研经验;鼓励学生走进教授团队研究室,感受科研气氛与创新环境;发现学生兴趣,进行因材施教,分享给学生最需要,最能激发灵感的经验;老师应该热爱科研,与时俱进,掌握最先进的科技,积累更多更好的科研经验。     

Performance Management,Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment1

A number of investigations have focused on aspects of human resource management policy and their impact on employees. The study reported here examines the extent to which the main elements of performance management systems are associated with positive employee attitudes. Questionnaire measures of performance management variables and of employee attitudes were obtained from 860 staff in nine organizations, all of which had been ascertained to be operating performance management systems. The findings indicate that most elements of performance management did contribute to positive employee attitudes, and that between them they accounted for a substantial proportion of the variance in measures of organizational commitment and (especially) job satisfaction. Some differences in the data from public and private-sector organizations were found.