Organisational change and development of reformed Chinese township and village enterprises

This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here (http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/8263). Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the organisational changes (OCs) and the development of Chinese reformed township and village enterprises (RTVEs), their marketing and R&D strategies, and the impact of changes in terms of overall performance. Design/methodology/approach – A case study methodology involving semi-structured interviews is adopted. The unit chosen is the Guotai International Group (GTIG) in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China, in which the organisational changes over a period of over 40 years are analysed. Findings – OCs in Chinese RTVEs are found to be driven by a combination of local government plans and market forces. Considering the hybrid nature of the organisation and ownership structures, changes in Chinese RTVEs follow a very much “top-down” approach. Research limitations/implications – The findings imply that managers appointed by the state in RTVEs usually lack the necessary skills in marketing and business management, and can be resistant to organisational changes, such as the willingness to undertake risks. As a result, RTVEs may become stuck in a cycle of low-cost, low-tech products, inhibiting any breakthrough in developing their own quality brands. Originality/value – This is one of few papers studying change over a long span of time to arrive at research findings that will be useful to academic researchers in their future work. The qualitative findings from this paper would also enrich the literatures on organisational change in Chinese RTVEs

Natural ventilation of multiple storey buildings: The use of stacks for secondary ventilation

The natural ventilation of buildings may be enhanced by the use of stacks. As well as increasing the buoyancy pressure available\ud to drive a flow, the stacks may also be used to drive ventilation in floors where there is little heat load. This is achieved by connecting\ud the floor with a relatively low heat load to a floor with a higher heat load through a common stack. The warm air expelled from the\ud warmer space into the stack thereby drives a flow through the floor with no heat load. This principle of ventilation has been adopted\ud in the basement archive library of the new SSEES building at UCL. In this paper a series of laboratory experiments and supporting\ud quantitative models are used to investigate such secondary ventilation of a low level floor driven by a heat source in a higher level\ud floor. The magnitude of the secondary ventilation within the lower floor is shown to increase with the ratio of the size of the\ud openings on the lower to the upper floor and also the height of the stack. The results also indicate that the secondary ventilation\ud leads to a reduction in the magnitude of the ventilation through the upper floor, especially if the lower floor has a large inlet area.\ud r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserve

Effluent sampling of Scout D and Delta launch vehicle exhausts

Characterization of engine-exhaust effluents (hydrogen chloride, aluminum oxide, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide) has been attempted by conducting field experiments monitoring the exhaust cloud from a Scout-Algol III vehicle launch and a Delta-Thor vehicle launch. The exhaust cloud particulate size number distribution (total number of particles as a function of particle diameter), mass loading, morphology, and elemental composition have been determined within limitations. The gaseous species in the exhaust cloud have been identified. In addition to the ground-based measurements, instrumented aircraft flights through the low-altitude, stabilized-exhaust cloud provided measurements which identified CO and HCI gases and Al2O3 particles. Measurements of the initial exhaust cloud during formation and downwind at several distances have established sampling techniques which will be used for experimental verification of model predictions of effluent dispersion and fallout from exhaust clouds

Terra preta nova.

Amazonian soils are almost universally thought of as extremely forbidding. However, it is now clear that complex societies with large, sedentary populations were present for over a millenium before European contact. Associated with these are tracts of anomalously fertile, dark soils termed terra preta. These soils are presently an important agricultural resource within Amazonia. They provide a model for developing long-term future sustainability of food production simple carbon based soil technologies in tropical environments, particularly among small holders

Phonon Life-times from first principles self consistent lattice dynamics

Phonon lifetime calculations from first principles usually rely on time consuming molecular dynamics calculations, or density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) where the zero temperature crystal structure is assumed to be dynamically stable. Here a new and effective method for calculating phonon lifetimes from first principles is presented, not limited to crystal structures stable at 0 K, and potentially much more effective than most corresponding molecular dynamics calculations. The method is based on the recently developed self consistent lattice dynamical method and is here tested by calculating the bcc phase phonon lifetimes of Li, Na, Ti and Zr, as representative examples.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figur

Atmospheric particulate measurements in Norfolk, Virginia

Characterization of atmospheric particulates was conducted at a site near the center of Norfolk, Virginia. Air quality was measured in terms of atmospheric mass loading, particle size distribution, and particulate elemental composition for a period of 2 weeks. The objectives of this study were (1) to establish a mean level of air quality and deviations about this mean, (2) to ascertain diurnal changes or special events in air quality, and (3) to evaluate instrumentation and sampling schedules. Simultaneous measurements were made with the following instruments: a quartz crystal microbalance particulate monitor, a light-scattering multirange particle counter, a high-volume air sampler, and polycarbonate membrane filters. To assess the impact of meteorological conditions on air quality variations, continuous data on temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and wind direction were recorded. Particulate elemental composition was obtained from neutron activation and scanning electron microscopy analyses of polycarbonate membrane filter samples. The measured average mass loading agrees reasonably well with the mass loadings determined by the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board. There are consistent diurnal increases in atmospheric mass loading in the early morning and a sample time resolution of 1/2 hour seems necessary to detect most of the significant events

Research on nonlinear optical materials: an assessment. IV. Photorefractive and liquid crystal materials

This panel considered two separate subject areas: photorefractive materials used for nonlinear optics and liquid crystal materials used in light valves. Two related subjects were not considered due to lack of expertise on the panel: photorefractive materials used in light valves and liquid crystal materials used in nonlinear optics. Although the inclusion of a discussion of light valves by a panel on nonlinear optical materials at first seems odd, it is logical because light valves and photorefractive materials perform common functions

Developing learning materials to promote positive interaction with people with dementia: we are all in it together!

Literature on the care of people with dementia is still sparse and this is reflected in the professional education curriculum such as social work, nursing and other health care professionals (Marshall and Tibbs 2006). As life expectancy and the likelihood of dementia increases, the transition from the third to the fourth age is marked by a loss of control of the body through dementia. Its effects on the person constitutes what Gilleard and Higgs(2000) term a ‘loss of social agency’; a social death that is characterised by an exclusion from the social world and services that objectify and dehumanise the individual (Foucault 1973). Extensive research by Kitwood (1997) centred on engagement through intense interaction with individuals with dementia and promoted the concept of ‘personhood’ bringing to the forefront more person-centred and citizen approaches to dementia care (Kitwood, 1997, Marshall and Tibbs, 2006). This approach has also connected with a number of arts based methods in professional education where traditional care practices founded on more positivist stances are recognised to be limited as a basis for enquiry into the human condition. This paper describes an educational partnership between social work and nurse educators, carers of people with dementia and an older people’s theatre project. This collaboration sought to build on cultural theories from the arts and humanities to provide a more political lens for change and reform in approaches to dementia care (Deleuze and Guttari , 1987; Barrett and Bolt 2007). Using storytelling techniques, a number of case studies were developed to inform arts based approaches such as drama and music to develop learning materials for professional and carer education. Digital images enacted by an older people’s theatre group also drew on research evidence of good practice in communication with people with dementia and a number of digital stories were developed. The paper will present some of the findings from the evaluation of the project and will illustrate this by showing some of the 3 – 4 minute clips from materials developed to facilitate further participant discussion