Editorial stance on duplicate and salami publication

In this edition of the British Orthoptic Journal the notice to contributors has been amended. The sentence ‘Papers are considered for publication on the understanding that they are not being submitted elsewhere at the same time’ has been extended to address the problem of duplicate publication and now appears under ‘Terms of submission’

Twenty years after Mentzer : a polemic on logistics research rigour and relevance today

This paper was delivered at 28th NOFOMA Conference, 8-10 June, 2016, Turku School of Economics (TSE), the University of Turku, Turku, Finland. Abstract Purpose This paper is a polemic that explores the overarching issue of rigour and relevance in logistics and SCM (LSCM) research today. The starting point for this paper is Tom Mentzer’s publications beginning twenty years ago about the need for rigour and relevance in LSCM research. The purpose of this paper is to stimulate thinking and debate among colleagues in the LSCM academic community about these issues and remind them of the need to keep them at the forefront of their own research. Design/methodology/approach The authors used an autoethnographic approach to examine this issue, based on their collective sixty years’ experience in academia. After a review of appropriate literature on the topic, data was collected from discussions among the paper’s authors as well as recounting open discussions with other academics and editors of LSCM journals to collate their observations. Findings The changes in the academic environment towards a ‘publish or perish’ culture have altered the landscape of LSCM research as it appears in journals. It has led to ‘salami-slicing’ of research to the extent that novelty in papers has been reduced to a minimum. Further, parts of research are reported in a way that fits journal expectations rather than noting the research approach and methods as they were actually applied in the research. Ultimately, this may undermine ground-breaking findings in LSCM and lead to a stagnation of the discipline. Research limitations/implications (if applicable) This paper is based on personal observations and experiences of the three authors as well as open-ended discussions with others in the LSCM community. Practical implications (if applicable) Practical implications are provided for LSCM academics in their roles as authors and journal editors. Social implications (if applicable) Encouraging the LSCM academic community to improve the rigour, relevance and quality of research will result in better impact and outcomes for society at large. Original/value The value of this paper is in stimulating thinking and debate amongst LSCM academics to come back to core issues in the discipline and seek both rigour and relevance

Linguistics

Contains research objectives and reports on one research project.National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 P01 MH-13390-02

Governmental financial resilience under austerity: the case of English local authorities

The increased uncertainty, volatility and complexity arising from the economic crisis and the context of austerity require governments to put greater emphasis on flexibility, adaptability and a long-term perspective in their financial management. Through a multiple case study analysis of 4 local authorities, this report adopts the conceptual lens of financial resilience to explore the main shocks undergone by local authorities over the last 10 years and the related responses and capacities, with a specific focus on the recent 2008 crisis and current context of austerity. The analysis suggests relevant implications for policy makers and managers

Impact of Temporary Storage Orientation on Commensal Bacteria and Sanitizing Programs on Survivability of Listeria innocua on Food Contact Surfaces in Retail Deli Settings

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of temporary storage orientation on commensal bacterial populations and sanitizing programs on survivability of Listeria innocua on food contact surfaces in retail deli settings. For trial 1, when looking only at salami, the face orientation resulted in higher contamination levels compared to the butt (P ≤ 0.05). When looking only at turkey, there was no significant difference in microbial growth populations of both orientations (P ≥ 0.05). For trial 2, When looking at both turkey and salami samples, there was no significant difference in microbial growth levels after the cleaning and sanitizing and sanitizing only treatments were applied (P ≥ 0.05) However, there was at least a 3-log reduction of the turkey and a 5-log reduction of the salami compared to the control. Overall, the current study concluded that the effect of the treatment orientation of ready-to-eat (RTE) meat on microbial contamination varies depending on meat product type. Additionally, both cleaning programs were equally as effective in reducing microbial growth on food contact surfaces in retail deli settings

Salami publication: definitions and examples

Salami publication or segmented publication is a distinct form of redundant publication which is usually characterized by similarity of hypothesis, methodology or results but not text similarity. These aspects of publications are not objectively detected by software applications and therefore present a serious threat to publication ethics. This article presents a practical approach for dealing with manuscripts suspected of salami publication during the submission process and after article publication in Biochemia Medica

Organisational Learning and Change in a Public Sector Context

It is broadly accepted that learning is important in supporting thedelivery of change (Tsang, 1997). Furthermore, during times of publicsector budget cuts there is a growing interest in innovation and change(Pollitt, 2010, Brown and Osborne, 2013). However, it is also generallyaccepted that austere times typically lead to a reduction in training anddevelopment budgets – particularly within the public sector (Jewson etal., 2015).This paper explores the extent to which the assumed link betweenlearning and change is contested during austerity. 51 public sectormanagers from Wales and Scotland participated in the study, over aperiod of 13 months, from a wide range of public sector organisationsacross two devolved parts of the UK. The research explored issuessurrounding motivations for learning, expectations of outcomes andperceptions around the drivers of change.It is found that public sector budget cuts are having a direct impact onlearning and development opportunities across the UK public sector.Whilst budget cuts may lead to change, this is likely to be piecemealrather than strategic. In conclusion this research supports the view thatausterity is a barrier to meaningful change in the public sector and not adriver