Strategic Outsourcing: Evidence from the British Companies

Outsourcing has become an increasingly popular option for many organisations. But they vary in terms of activities being outsourced, reasons for and benefits from outsourcing, and how the decision was made. This article presents an empirical research on fourteen companies. It found out, a) in most cases it was the ‘peripheral’ support activity being outsourced with cost reduction as the primary driver; b) outsourcing decision was being made early in the process without active involvement of the in-house provider; and c) there were problems in supplier selection and management. The research identified pre-outsourcing decision process and post-outsourcing management as the two key areas that gave cause for concern, and offered recommendations for improvement

Institutional strategies for capturing socio-economic impact of academic research

Evaluation of socio-economic impact is an emerging theme for publicly-funded academic research. Within this context the paper suggests that the concept of institutional research capital be expanded to include the capture and evaluation of socio-economic impact. Furthermore, it argues that understanding the typology of impacts and the tracking from research to impact will assist the formulation of institutional strategies for capturing socio-economic impact. A three-stage approach is proposed for capturing and planning activities to enhance the generation of high-quality impact. Stage one outlines the critical role of user engagement that facilitates the tracking of such impact. Stage two employs an analytical framework based on the criteria of ‘depth’ and ‘spread’ to evaluate impacts that have been identified. Stage three utilizes the outcomes of the framework to devise strategies, consisting of either further research (to increase depth) or more engagement (to increase spread) that will improve the generation of higher quality impact

Reassurance Policing and Signal Crimes

A reassurance function for policing was first considered by American psychologist Charles Bahn (1974: 338) as “feelings of safety that a citizen experiences when he knows that a police officer or patrol car is nearby.” This idea was taken forward in Britain by Martin Innes and colleagues in the early 2000s through the development of a signal crimes perspective. At this time, British policing implemented a National Reassurance Policing Programme (NRPP) where local policing priorities were decided through consultation with local communities. The impact of reassurance policing has since spread and the approach has also been considered in Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. In this entry, the background to reassurance policing is considered with particular reference to the work of Charles Bahn and Martin Innes and colleagues. The development of a policy of reassurance policing in Britain is also examined. The successes and limitations of the approach are considered and three main issues identified: that reassurance needs to be a consideration for all policing; that increases in visible patrol need to be questioned (especially at a time of budget restraint); and that reassurance policing has the potential to be a model of democratic policing, but only if consultation is truly inclusive, for instance, including those that have been victimized and groups that have been targets of police activity such as young people, the homeless, and other minority and marginalized groups

How effective are programs at managing transition from hospital to home? A case study of the Australian transition care program

Extent: 5p.Background: An increasing demand for acute care services due in part to rising proportions of older people and increasing rates of chronic diseases has led to new models of post-acute care for older people that offer coordinated discharge, ongoing support and often a focus on functional restoration. Overall, review of the literature suggests there is considerable uncertainty around the effectiveness and resource implications of the various model configurations and delivery approaches. In this paper, we review the current evidence on the efficacy of such programs, using the Australian Transition Care Program as a case study. Discussion: The Australian Transition Care Program was established at the interface of the acute and aged care sectors with particular emphasis on transitions between acute and community care. The program is intended to enable a significant proportion of care recipients to return home, rather than prematurely enter residential aged care, optimize their functional capacity, and reduce inappropriate extended lengths of hospital stay for older people. Broadly, the model is configured and targeted in accordance with programs reported in the international literature to be effective. Early evaluations suggest good acceptance of the program by hospitals, patients and staff. Ultimately, however, the program's place in the array of post-acute services should be determined by its demonstrated efficacy relative to other services which cater for similar patient groups. Summary: Currently there is a lack of robust evaluation to provide convincing evidence of efficacy, either from a patient outcome or cost reduction perspective. As the program expands and matures, there will be opportunity to scrutinise the systematic effects, with lessons for both Australian and international policy makers and clinical leaders.Leonard C Gray, Nancye M Peel, Maria Crotty, Susan E Kurrle, Lynne C Giles, and Ian D Camero

Glass Furnace Combustion and Melting Research Facility.

The need for a Combustion and Melting Research Facility focused on the solution of glass manufacturing problems common to all segments of the glass industry was given high priority in the earliest version of the Glass Industry Technology Roadmap (Eisenhauer et al., 1997). Visteon Glass Systems and, later, PPG Industries proposed to meet this requirement, in partnership with the DOE/OIT Glass Program and Sandia National Laboratories, by designing and building a research furnace equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostics in the DOE Combustion Research Facility located at the Sandia site in Livermore, CA. Input on the configuration and objectives of the facility was sought from the entire industry by a variety of routes: (1) through a survey distributed to industry leaders by GMIC, (2) by conducting an open workshop following the OIT Glass Industry Project Review in September 1999, (3) from discussions with numerous glass engineers, scientists, and executives, and (4) during visits to glass manufacturing plants and research centers. The recommendations from industry were that the melting tank be made large enough to reproduce the essential processes and features of industrial furnaces yet flexible enough to be operated in as many as possible of the configurations found in industry as well as in ways never before attempted in practice. Realization of these objectives, while still providing access to the glass bath and combustion space for optical diagnostics and measurements using conventional probes, was the principal challenge in the development of the tank furnace design. The present report describes a facility having the requirements identified as important by members of the glass industry and equipped to do the work that the industry recommended should be the focus of research. The intent is that the laboratory would be available to U.S. glass manufacturers for collaboration with Sandia scientists and engineers on both precompetitive basic research and the solution of proprietary glass production problems. As a consequence of the substantial increase in scale and scope of the initial furnace concept in response to industry recommendations, constraints on funding of industrial programs by DOE, and reorientation of the Department's priorities, the OIT Glass Program is unable to provide the support for construction of such a facility. However, it is the present investigators' hope that a group of industry partners will emerge to carry the project forward, taking advantage of the detailed furnace design presented in this report. The engineering, including complete construction drawings, bill of materials, and equipment specifications, is complete. The project is ready to begin construction as soon as the quotations are updated. The design of the research melter closely follows the most advanced industrial practice, firing by natural gas with oxygen. The melting area is 13 ft x 6 ft, with a glass depth of 3 ft and an average height in the combustion space of 3 ft. The maximum pull rate is 25 tons/day, ranging from 100% batch to 100% cullet, continuously fed, with variable batch composition, particle size distribution, and raft configuration. The tank is equipped with bubblers to control glass circulation. The furnace can be fired in three modes: (1) using a single large burner mounted on the front wall, (2) by six burners in a staggered/opposed arrangement, three in each breast wall, and (3) by down-fired burners mounted in the crown in any combination with the front wall or breast-wall-mounted burners. Horizontal slots are provided between the tank blocks and tuck stones and between the breast wall and skewback blocks, running the entire length of the furnace on both sides, to permit access to the combustion space and the surface of the glass for optical measurements and sampling probes. Vertical slots in the breast walls provide additional access for measurements and sampling. The furnace and tank are to be fully instrumented with standard measuring equipment, such as flow meters, thermocouples, continuous gas composition analyzers, optical pyrometers, and a video camera. The output from the instruments is to be continuously recorded and simultaneously made available to other researchers via the Internet. A unique aspect of the research facility would be its access to the expertise in optical measurements in flames and high temperature reacting flows residing in the Sandia Combustion Research Facility. Development of new techniques for monitoring and control of glass melting would be a major focus of the work. The lab would be equipped with conventional and laser light sources and detectors for optical measurements of gas temperature, velocity, and gaseous species and, using new techniques to be developed in the Research Facility itself, glass temperature and glass composition

Ancillary human health benefits of improved air quality resulting from climate change mitigation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation policies can provide ancillary benefits in terms of short-term improvements in air quality and associated health benefits. Several studies have analyzed the ancillary impacts of GHG policies for a variety of locations, pollutants, and policies. In this paper we review the existing evidence on ancillary health benefits relating to air pollution from various GHG strategies and provide a framework for such analysis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We evaluate techniques used in different stages of such research for estimation of: (1) changes in air pollutant concentrations; (2) avoided adverse health endpoints; and (3) economic valuation of health consequences. The limitations and merits of various methods are examined. Finally, we conclude with recommendations for ancillary benefits analysis and related research gaps in the relevant disciplines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that to date most assessments have focused their analysis more heavily on one aspect of the framework (e.g., economic analysis). While a wide range of methods was applied to various policies and regions, results from multiple studies provide strong evidence that the short-term public health and economic benefits of ancillary benefits related to GHG mitigation strategies are substantial. Further, results of these analyses are likely to be underestimates because there are a number of important unquantified health and economic endpoints.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Remaining challenges include integrating the understanding of the relative toxicity of particulate matter by components or sources, developing better estimates of public health and environmental impacts on selected sub-populations, and devising new methods for evaluating heretofore unquantified and non-monetized benefits.</p