\u27Gaining a Voice\u27: An Interpretation of Quaker Women\u27s Writing 1740-1850

The aim of this paper is to suggest way s in which Quaker women Ministers, in a period of considerable doctrinal and secular change, used their journal writings as a tool to maintain their position within the Society of Friends. Expanding on previous work on Quaker women\u27s spiritual autobiography, it suggests that these writings were not only written for spiritual purposes but also had a temporal dimension, providing women with an authorized \u27voice\u27 through which to express their concerns. The paper explores how in these writings Quaker women represented themselves, their work and their struggles when confronted with a male hierarchy, which for both doctrinal and temporal reasons, was progressively more determined to reduce their role and influence. Using both published and unpublished journals, this study suggests that Quaker women ministers knowingly promulgated their views and concerns through their journals to a wider audience and that their writing provided a useful and powerful medium for consciousness raising, ensuring that their readers were not only alerted to the women\u27s concerns but were also encouraged to maintain the position of women within the organisation of the Society

A critical evaluation of competitive intelligence and insight management practice.

This thesis forms part of a PhD by Publication based on the research and scholarly work of Sheila Wright. It explores her contribution to the field of Competitive Intelligence & Insight Management (CI&IM) made through ten articles published between 2002 and 2010. The research projects that involved the collection of primary data were carried out within a qualitative research methodology using a semi-structured interview or case study method and typically adopting a pragmatic paradigm. Through this work, it has been possible to present a best-practice framework for CI&IM. Similarly, it has been possible to develop an operational framework for CI&IM, which identifies the inter-connectivity of the CI&IM tasks as well as the organisational influencing factors which can aid or hinder successful implementation. As well as engaging in a critical evaluation of current CI&IM practice the thesis indicates how the articles offer solutions which can aid the delivery of improved performance to practitioners as well as academics who teach and research the subject. The thesis also identifies the place of CI&IM in the business discipline and draws attention to the cross-boundary, inter-disciplinary nature of its reach. The development of bibliometric software and citation identification programmes has enabled the inclusion of a citation analysis for each article which also identifies the context within which that citation was made. This is presented as supporting evidence for the contribution to knowledge and value of the body of work. Through this mechanism it has also been possible, not only to identify the frequency with which the articles have been cited, but more importantly, the impact and contribution this has had on scholars who have subsequently used the output and frameworks as a basis for their own research.This is a PhD by Publication. Due to copyright restrictions, copies of the articles have been omitted in this version of the thesis. Full bibliographic details including DOI's and URL's for the articles can be found in Appendix 2

Using Focus Groups to Obtain Students\u27 Perceptions of General Education

Description of the Interdisciplinary Program Method Procedure Data Analysis Results Reactions to Content Instructor-Content Interaction Impact of Courses Implications Teaching Further Research Use of Focus Groups Conclusion References Appendix A Appendix

Causes of competitive analysis failure: Understanding and responding to problems at the individual level.

It ought to be a fairly safe assumption that a CI analyst would want to perform the analysis task and execute their responsibilities successfully over time. Such competencies should come with added experience on the job, as should the ability to reduce the risk of failure by diagnosing potential pitfalls. This paper presents a) a unique four-level hierarchical model of analysis failure, b) ten key continua of competitive analysis skills which we believe an analyst has to master before they can consider themselves to be truly competent in their work, c) a discussion on the paucity of high quality teaching of these skills, and d) presents eight guiding principles which a firm should consider in an attempt to improve individual performance and reduce the potential for analysis failure. Our purpose in identifying the possibility and causes of analytical failure is that we believe much can be learned by managers and practitioners from studying failures. This learning can ultimately contribute towards creating a more successful analysis function which can only be beneficial to all concerned

Competitor intelligence for the smaller enterprise.

The practice of Competitor Intelligence is well established in the USA where it is estimated that 80% of all firms utilise it to their competitive advantage. Within the UK however, it is only gradually becoming a part of the strategic activity of large multi-nationals which have realised the benefit of “being aware”. Unfortunately, it is hardly ever mentioned within the small and medium sized enterprise (SME) sector which has so much to gain from engaging in CI. Competitor activity is a fundamental part of every market. Understanding it through CI provides opportunities for profitable growth. Lack of understanding results in an increased risk of failure. The two most commonly stated problems for SMEs are “too many competitors” and “large competitors” so it makes good sense to know what they are doing. Even the smallest attention to this area has the potential to make an immense contribution to business success. This report discusses the benefits that Competitor Intelligence can bring, where to obtain it (often inexpensively or free) and assesses how SMEs can use CI to their benefit to formulate successful business strategies. Recommendations are provided for those firms wishing to use CI in order to achieve competitive advantage through a greater knowledge of the competitive situation

Competitive intelligence in action.

This document reports on the findings of the very first survey to be undertaken on Competitive Intelligence (CI) practice in UK firms. The findings from mail and interview data were analysed and categorised to produce a Taxonomy of CI Practice. This study was the foundation from which further empirical studies were designed