15,792 research outputs found

    The development of the Kent coalfield 1896-1946

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    One of the unique features of the Kent Coalfield is that it is entirely concealed by newer rocks. The existence of a coalfield under southern England, being a direct link between those of South Wales, Somerset and Bristol in the west and the Ruhr, Belgium. and northern France in the east, was predicted by the geologist R. A. C. Godwin-Austen as early as 1856. It was, however, only the rapid increase in demand for Britain's coal in the last quarter of the nineteenth century that made it worth considering testing this hypothesis. The first boring was made in the years 1886-90, and although it discovered coal, this did not in itself prove the existence of a viable coalfield. This could be done only by incurring the heavy cost of boring systematically over a wide area. As the financial returns from such an undertaking were uncertain, it was not surprising that in the early years, around the turn of the century, a dominant role was played by speculators, who were able to induce numerous small investors to risk some of their savings in the expectation of high profits. As minerals in Britain were privately owned, the early pioneer companies not only had to meet the cost of the exploratory borines, but also, if they were not to see the benefit of their work accrue to others, lease beforehand the right to mine coal from local landowners in as much of the surrounding area as possible. This policy was pursued most vigorously by Arthur Burr, a Surrey land specula tor, who raised capital by creating the Kent Coal Conoessions Ltd. and then floating a series of companies allied to it. Burr's enterprise would probably have been. successful had it not been for the water problems encountered at depth in -v- the coalfield. As a result, the Concessions group found itself in control of most of the coalfield, but without the necessary capital to sink and adequately equip its 01ffi collieries. By 1910, however, the discovery of iron ore deposits in east Kent, coupled with the fact that Kent coal was excellent for coking purposes, began to attract the large steel firms of Bolckow, Vaughan Ltd. and Dorman, Long & Co. Ltd. in to the area. The First World War intervened, however, to delay their plans, and to provide an extended lease of life to the Concessions group, which, by the summer of 1914, was facing financial collapse. By the time Dorman, Lone & Co, in alliance with Weetman Pearson (Lord Cowdray), had acquired control over the greater part of the coalfield from the Concessions group, not only was the country's coal industry declining, but so was its steel industry, which suffered an even more severe rate of contraction during the inter-war years. As a result, Pearson and Dorman Long Ltd. was forced to concentrate just on coal production, and this in turn was hampered not only by the water problems, but also by labour shortages and the schemes introduced by the government in 1930 to restrict the country's coal output, in an attempt to maintain prices and revenue in the industry. Nevertheless, production did show a substantial increase between 1927 and 1935, after which it declined as miners left the coalfield to return to their former districts, where employment opportunities were improving in the late thirties. Supporting roles were played in the inter-war years by Richard Tilden Smith, a share underwriter turned industrialist with long standing interests in the coalfield, who acquired one of the Concessions group's two collieries, and by the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Co. Ltd., which through subsidiary companies, took over the only colliery to be developed by a pioneer company outside the Concessions group. The impossibility of Kent coal, because of its nature, ever gaining more than token access to the more lucrative household market, and then the failure of the local steel industry to materialise meant that the -vi- companies had to develop alternative outlets for their growing outputs. Although nearness to industrial markets in the south-east of England did confer certain advantages were poor consolation for the hoped for developments of either the early pioneers or the later industrialists. Instead of the expected profits, the companies mostly incurred losses, and only the company acquired by Powell Duffryn ever paid a dividend to its shareholders in the years before nationalisation. From the point of view of the Kent miners, the shortage of labour in the coalfield, particularly in the years 1914-20 and 1927-35, was to an important extent responsible for their being amongst the highest paid in the industry. At the same time the more favourable employment opportunities prevailing in Kent compared with other mining districts enabled the Kent Nine Workers Association to develop into a well organised union, which on the whole was able to look after the interests of its members fairly successfully. Throughout the period 1896 to 1946 the Kent Coalfield existed very much at the margin of the British coal industry. Its failure to develop substantially along the lines envisaged by either the early pioneers or by the later industrialists meant that its importance in national terms always remained small

    Victims' Access to Justice in Trinidad and Tobago: An exploratory study of experiences and challenges of accessing criminal justice in a post-colonial society

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    This thesis investigates victims' access to justice in Trinidad and Tobago, using their own narratives. It seeks to capture how their experiences affected their identities as victims and citizens, alongside their perceptions of legitimacy regarding the criminal justice system. While there have been some reforms in the administration of criminal justice in Trinidad and Tobago, such reforms have not focused on victims' accessibility to the justice system. Using grounded theory methodology, qualitative data was collected through 31 in-depth interviews with victims and victim advocates. The analysis found that victims experienced interpersonal, structural, and systemic barriers at varying levels throughout the criminal justice system, which manifested as institutionalized secondary victimization, silencing and inequality. This thesis argues that such experiences not only served to appropriate conflict but demonstrates that access is often given in a very narrow sense. Furthermore, it shows a failure to encompass access to justice as appropriated conflicts are left to stagnate in the system as there is often very little resolution. Adopting a postcolonial lens to analyse victims' experiences, the analysis identified othering practices that served to institutionalize the vulnerability and powerlessness associated with victim identities. Here, it is argued that these othering practices also affected the rights consciousness of victims, delegitimating their identities as citizens. Moreover, as a result of their experiences, victims had mixed perceptions of the justice system. It is argued that while the system is a legitimate authority victims' endorsement of the system is questionable, therefore victims' experiences suggest that there is a reinforcement of the system's legal hegemony. The findings suggest that within the legal system of Trinidad and Tobago, legacies of colonialism shape the postcolonial present as the psychology and inequalities of the past are present in the interactions and processes of justice. These findings are relevant for policymakers in Trinidad and Tobago and other regions. From this study it is recognized that, to improve access to justice for victims, there needs to be a move towards victim empowerment that promotes resilience and enhances social capital. Going forward it is noted that there is a need for further research

    Microsoft Teams and team performance in the COVID-19 pandemic within an NHS Trust Community Service in North-West England

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    Purpose This study aims to evaluate the impact the introduction of Microsoft Teams has had on team performance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic within a National Health Service (NHS) Community Service. Design/methodology/approach Microsoft Teams was rolled out across the NHS over a period of four days, partly in response to the need for social distancing. This case study reviews how becoming a virtual team affected team performance, the role Microsoft Teams had played in supporting staff to work in higher virtuality, understand what elements underpin a successful virtual team and how these results correlate to the technology acceptance model (Davis, 1985). Findings The findings indicate that Teams made a positive impact to the team at a time of heightened clinical pressures and working in unfamiliar environments without the supportive benefits of face-to-face contact with colleagues in terms of incidental knowledge sharing and health and well-being. Originality/value Further developments were needed to make virtual meetings more accessible for introverted colleagues, support asynchronous communication, address training needs and support leaders to adapt and operate in higher virtuality

    Valores Públicos e Performance Financeira das Entidades Públicas: Proposta de Modelo de Análise na Perspetiva do Relato

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    Tese de Doutoramento em Administração Pública Especialização em Administração e Políticas PúblicasA criação de valor público, na qual a Administração Pública assume um papel fundamental, deverá traduzir o interesse dos cidadãos e nortear-se por um conjunto abrangente de valores públicos. Estes valores públicos, amplos, complexos e divergentes, devem integrar o modelo de governança democrática, suportar a tomada de decisão e servir de referência para a Administração Pública, na prossecução do interesse público. Tendo por base os modelos de governação pública, a Teoria do Valor Público e a Teoria do Interesse Público, bem como as dimensões dos valores públicos apontadas por stakeholders e influencers da informação financeira pública, procurou estudar-se de que forma os valores públicos, que materializam o interesse público, podem integrar na sua função de accountability, a avaliação e a análise da performance financeira na perspetiva da prestação de contas das entidades públicas. Nesse sentido, o estudo pretendeu identificar quais os valores públicos de natureza económica e financeira que interessam aos stakeholders e enquadrá-los num modelo estruturado de análise da financeira, que contribua para o reforço da performance accountability e transparência do relato financeiro público. A partir de uma estratégia de investigação mista, materializada na realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas e no ensaio aplicado sobre os dados financeiros do Município de Cascais, a investigação desenvolveu um modelo de análise e relato da performance financeira com vista a integrar a prestação de contas das entidades públicas, tendo como referência basilar não a ótica contabilística da estrutura e conteúdo das demonstrações financeiras, mas os «valores públicos» que consubstanciam o «interesse público». Conclui-se que este modelo favorece a adequação do relato financeiro público aos valores públicos, bem como representa um contributo para a normalização da avaliação da performance, reduzindo a discricionariedade do relato, melhorando o benchmarking financeiro e o robustecimento do sistema de avaliação do desempenho das entidades públicas previsto na Lei de Enquadramento Orçamental.The creation of public value, in which the Public Administration plays a key role, should translate the citizens' interest and be guided by a comprehensive set of public values. These public values, broad, complex and divergent, should integrate the democratic governance model, support decision-making, and serve as a reference for the Public Administration in the pursuit of public interest. Based on the models of public governance, the Public Interest Theory and the Theory of Public Values, as well as the dimensions of public values pointed out by stakeholders and influencers of public financial information, we sought to study how public values, which materialize public interest, can integrate into the function of accountability, the evaluation and analysis of financial performance from the perspective of accountability of public entities. In this sense, the study intended to identify which public values of economic and financial nature are of interest to the stakeholders and frame them in a structured model of financial performance analysis, which contributes to the strengthening of accountability and transparency of public financial reporting. Based on a mixed research strategy, materialized in semi-structured interviews and the test applied on the financial data of the Municipality of Cascais, the research developed a model of analysis and reporting of the financial performance to integrate the accountability of public entities. This was done having as an essential reference not the accounting perspective of the structure and content of the financial statements, but the "public values" that embody the "public interest". The conclusion is that this model favours the adequacy of public financial reporting to public values and represents a contribution to the standardization of performance evaluation, reducing the discretion of reporting, improving financial benchmarking, and strengthening the performance evaluation system of public entities foreseen in the Budgetary Framework Law.N/

    Innovation and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

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    Nowadays special attention is paid to ecosystem conditions that encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. This chapter provides a critical review and expands the understanding of the concepts of the innovation ecosystem and entrepreneurial ecosystem. The entrepreneurial ecosystem represents a collection of actors that interact within a geographically bound entrepreneurial environment and factors, which contribute to the development of productive entrepreneurship. Innovation ecosystems represent communities of interacting actors that support innovation processes and create technologies and innovations. The focus of the innovation ecosystem is on value creation through the creation of innovations, while the focus of the entrepreneurship ecosystem is on the development of entrepreneurship. There are differences between the two concepts, but also the relationships and interactions, which are revealed in the chapter. Also, there are highlighted the framework, components and features of both entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems

    The Professional Identity of Doctors who Provide Abortions: A Sociological Investigation

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    Abortion is a medicalised problem in England and Wales, where the law places doctors at the centre of legal provision and puts doctors in control of who has an abortion. However, the sex-selection abortion scandal of 2012 presented a very real threat to 'abortion doctors', when the medical profession's values and practices were questioned in the media, society and by Members of Parliament. Doctors found themselves at the centre of a series of claims that stated doctors were acting both illegally and unethically, driven by profit rather than patient needs. Yet, the perspectives of those doctors who provide abortions has been under-researched; this thesis aims to fill that gap by examining the beliefs and values of this group of doctors. Early chapters highlight the ambiguous position of the abortion provider in Britain, where doctors are seen as a collective group of professionals motivated by medical dominance and medical autonomy. They outline how this position is then questioned and contested, with doctors being presented as unethical. By studying abortion at the macro-, meso- and micro-levels, this thesis seeks to better understand the values of the 'abortion doctor', and how these levels shape the work and experiences of abortion providers in England and Wales. This thesis thus addresses the question: 'What do abortion doctors' accounts of their professional work suggest about the contemporary dynamics of the medicalisation of abortion in Britain?'. It investigates the research question using a qualitative methodological approach: face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted with 47 doctors who provide abortions in England and Wales. The findings from this empirical study show how doctors' values are linked to how they view the 'normalisation of abortion'. At the macro-level doctors, openly resisted the medicalisation of abortion through the position ascribed to them by the legal framework, yet at the meso-level doctors construct an identity where normalising abortion is based on further medicalising services. Finally, at the micro-level, the ambiguous position of the abortion provider is further identified in terms of being both a proud provider and a stigmatised individual. This thesis shows that while the existing medicalisation literature has some utility, it has limited explanatory power when investigating the problem of abortion. The thesis thus provides some innovative insights into the relevance and value of medicalisation through a comprehensive study on doctors' values, beliefs and practices
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