The offshoring of financial services : a reassessment

Operating in increasingly competitive market environment, financial services companies are engaged in international re-engineering of business processes mirroring developments in manufacturing over the past four decades. Drawing upon interviews conducted with senior managers and partners from two leading international banks, a multinational 'consumables' provider and a leading finance consultancy, as well as extensive published surveys, we examine the distinctive 'anatomy' of offshoring in financial services, and industry which also manifests a high degree of geographical concentration for 'higher order' functions. We conclude that the reality of process re-engineering in the sector has frequently failed to meet business objectives, and has run the risk of creating 'backlash' from employees in both home and host environments

Finding Ways

In 2008 I was commissioned to write a poem which was subsequently set into a 700m ribbon of steel that meanders throughout the interior and exterior spaces of the development. The project was designated the title ‘Finding Ways’, which I used loosely to explore the notion of discovery and getting back on track with one’s life. I began this challenging project with a view to achieving three key aims: to produce a poem, or series of poems, that would enliven the new medical facility of Roseberry Park by commenting on the area’s heritage and the journeys that form a part of the medical facility’s purpose; to promote positive interaction and reflection within the residents and users of the facility through the poem; to produce a poem that adhered to the severe restrictions imposed by the building plans, at the same time as it appeared seamless and unforced

Corporate social responsibility in Ukraine : cynical utilitarianism or Aristotelian 'Common Good'?

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been researched extensively in Western Europe (Steurer and Konrad, 2009), and to some extent in Central and Eastern Europe (e.g. Furrer et al., 2010). Empirical research in the former USSR, however, has been limited. This paper aims to address this deficiency, presenting the results of a study of CSR drivers in Ukraine. We conducted 19 semi-structured interviews with managers, NGO representatives and academics in Ukraine. Our preliminary findings suggest that CSR adopters in Ukraine tend to fall into two main categories. Following Garriga and Melé’s (2004) typology, we discern a group that takes a predominantly utilitarian approach to defining its social obligations, adopting CSR practices in response to actual and perceived external demands. Such organisations tend to be newer (post-USSR era) companies, and/or those whose clients and investors are located mainly abroad. The second type consists of more locally embedded concerns, whose owners and managers adopt a predominantly normative approach to CSR, adhering to practices that originated in the Soviet period, whilst striving for economic viability in a new era of market orientation. Our study casts light on the divergent paths taken by organizations in a distinctive transitional setting in order to gain social and economic legitimacy.Final Published versio

Environmental correlates of plant and invertebrate species richness in ponds

Ponds (lentic water bodies <2 ha) constitute a considerable biodiversity resource. Understanding the environmental factors that underlie this diversity is important in protecting and managing the habitat. We surveyed 425 ponds for biological and physical characteristics with 78 of those also surveyed for chemical characteristics. A total of 277 invertebrate species and 265 plant species were found. Species richness varied between 2 and 99 (mean 27.2 ± 0.6 SE) for invertebrates and 1 and 58 (mean 20.8 ± 0.4 SE) for plants. Generalised additive models were used to investigate variables that correlate with the species richness of plants and invertebrates, with additional models to investigate insect, Coleoptera, Odonata, Hemiptera, Trichoptera and Mollusca species richness. Models performed reasonably well for invertebrates in general (R 2 = 30.3%) but varied between lower-order invertebrate taxa (12.7–34.7%). Ponds with lower levels of shading and no history of drying contained higher numbers of species of plants and all invertebrate groups. Aquatic plant coverage positively correlated with species richness in all invertebrate groups apart from Trichoptera and the presence of fish was associated with high invertebrate species richness in all groups apart from Coleoptera. The addition of chemistry variables suggested non-linear relationships between oxygen demand and phosphate concentration and higher-order richness. We demonstrate that the composition of biological communities varies along with their species richness and that less diverse ponds are more variable compared to more diverse ponds. Variables positively correlated with richness of one taxon may be negatively correlated with that of another, making comprehensive management recommendations difficult. Promoting a high landscape-level pond biodiversity will involve the management of a high diversity of pond types within that landscape

Letter from Joseph Hollinshead & Mary Hollinshead to James B. Finley

Joseph discusses the good work of Methodism in the Philadelphia congregations of Kensington and St. John\u27s. He informs Finley that he has sold his business and plans to move his family to Oak Grove Furnace, PA, where he will manage the iron furnace. Abstract Number - 134https://digitalcommons.owu.edu/finley-letters/1132/thumbnail.jp

Letter from Joseph Hollinshead & Mary Hollinshead to James B. Finley

Joseph has moved to Oak Grove Furnace in Perry County, PA, apparently to serve as overseer of the iron furnace. He tells Finley that he found that many of his employees were wicked drinking men. He has discharged many of these men and replaced them with sober religious men. Mary reports that they belong to an M.E. society of 30 members. Joseph is serving as a class superintendent. They have preaching every two weeks. Abstract Number - 140https://digitalcommons.owu.edu/finley-letters/1138/thumbnail.jp

Production of: Foghorn Requiem

Richard Hollinshead was invited by the National Trust to develop a high-profile temporary artwork for Souter Lighthouse, South Shields. In response to this opportunity he developed an Artists’ Brief and curated a proposal by artists Lise Autogena and Joshua Portway. Their proposal Foghorn Requiem became a major site-specific project, and on June 22nd 2013 more than 50 ships gathered on the North Sea to perform an ambitious musical score by composer Orlando Gough, marking the disappearance of the sound of the foghorn from the UK’s coastal landscape. Specially tuned shipshorns and air supply systems installed on those vessels were accompanied by the Foghorn at Souter and three Championship-level brass bands, and Foghorn Requiem was performed to an audience of 8000