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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic overview of approaches to project portfolio selection in continuous improvement and to identify opportunities for future research.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reviews the extant literature on the theory and application of project portfolio selection in continuous improvement.FindingsManufacturing organisations must routinely deliver efficiencies in order to compete, but their ability to realise sustainable competitive advantage from these improvements is hampered by the lack of objective approaches for targeting their improvement efforts. In this paper a normative framework for linking strategy to process improvement implementation is presented. The paper then examines the literature on portfolio and project selection in continuous improvement and presents a descriptive framework that represents the current state. Three gaps are highlighted: optimisation of the future state, portfolio generation, and the appropriate measurement to judge outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsAs a review, this work relies on the use of secondary sources. Some of these sources were published in publications that are not peer‐reviewed.Practical implicationsThere are significant limitations to the approaches used by industry for project selection but the methods described in the literature do not offer an adequate solution to this problem. Practitioners must be aware of the benefits and shortcomings of the methods and recognise that they assist with choice not design.Originality/valueThis review fills a gap in the literature by providing researchers and practitioners with an overview of approaches, a better understanding of the shortcomings of current approaches and a normative model that highlights areas for further research.

The current article surveys the scope and the major assumptions of domestic critical discourse on literary translation from English into Lithuanian since 1990. The market conditions have changed enormously since Lithuania moved to a market-free economy and chose a democratic ruling system, thus affecting all the spheres of culture, including literary and translation production. Critical evaluation of quality, adequacy, norms and other related issues of literary translation does not seem to keep pace with a rapid production of literary translation. Since the publication of a textbook on translation by Armalytė and Pažūsis (1990), no other fundamental work has been published in this area. The current review of critical discourse on literary translation includes two major sources of periodical literature – that is, academic papers in scholarly magazines and critical reviews in newspapers and magazines targeting wider readership. The major aim of this review is to identify the potentials and limits of national critical discourse by examining topic areas, critical standards applied to the evaluation of actual translations, and some metadiscoursal issues. ; Straipsnio tikslas – atskleisti trijų didžiausių Lietuvos miestų – Vilniaus, Kauno ir Klaipėdos – gyventojų kalbino elgesio darbo aplinkoje tendencijas, nustatyti miestiečių darbe vartojamas kalbas, kalbėjimo su skirtingais pašnekovais ypatumus, palyginti Vilniaus, Kauno ir Klaipėdos gyventojų kalbinę elgseną darbe. Remiantis kelių reprezentatyvių sociolingvistinių apklausų duomenimis, straipsnyje analizuojami bendravimo su skirtingais pašnekovais (bendradarbiais, vadovais ir klientais) ypatumai. Daugiausia dėmesio skiriama dažniausių kalbų darbo aplinkoje, lietuvių, rusų ir anglų, vartojimui, nagrinėjamos amžiaus, išsilavinimo veiksnių, tautinės tapatybės sąsajos su kalbų vartojimu darbe.

The importance of livestock as a pathway out of poverty is widely recognized, but debate continues on the effectiveness of pro-poor livestock development projects. This study examines a random sample of livestock development projects to draw lessons and identify best practices. It used cluster analysis to generate groups of successful and unsuccessful projects based on performance indicators (selected after a review of literature on project performance evaluation in development agencies) and also on effects of projects on market access and utilization. The study applies descriptive statistics and regression (OLS, Logit and Ordered Probit) to identify features of projects that influence success. Although about 60% of livestock development projects were categorized as unsuccessful, the results shed light on ways to foster the successful livestock development projects. Big-budget projects implemented over long periods of time tend to be successful. Targeting of market actors from multiple stages of the value chain is associated with project success, supporting the current trend in whole-chain project design. Institution development activities in projects, effective monitoring and evaluation, and involvement of beneficiaries in project design and management also enhance success. Furthermore, against a backdrop of growing enthusiasm for market-led development, the results indicated that project activities need not necessarily feature marketing-related activities to deliver market-related results; rather, a well-implemented project did so regardless of its content. Conversely, unreliability of government partners and inclusion of other non-livestock agricultural activities in projects undermine success.

Changes related to globalization have resulted in the growing separation of individuals in late modern societies from traditional bases of social solidarity such as parties, churches, and other mass organizations. One sign of this growing individualization is the organization of individual action in terms of meanings assigned to lifestyle elements resulting in the personalization of issues such as climate change, labour standards, and the quality of food supplies. Such developments bring individuals' own narratives to the fore in the mobilization process, often requiring organizations to be more flexible in their definitions of issues. This personalization of political action presents organizations with a set of fundamental challenges involving potential trade-offs between flexibility and effectiveness. This paper analyses how different protest networks used digital media to engage individuals in mobilizations targeting the 2009 G20 London Summit during the global financial crisis. The authors examine how these different communication processes affected the political capacity of the respective organizations and networked coalitions. In particular, the authors explore whether the coalition offering looser affiliation options for individuals displays any notable loss of public engagement, policy focus (including mass media impact), or solidarity network coherence. This paper also examines whether the coalition offering more rigid collective action framing and fewer personalized social media affordances displays any evident gain in the same dimensions of mobilization capacity. In this case, the evidence suggests that the more personalized collective action process maintains high levels of engagement, agenda focus, and network strength.

North bicyclo methanocarba thymidine (TN) nucleosides were substituted into siRNAs to investigate the effect of bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane 2′-deoxy-pseudosugars on RNA interference activity. Here we provide evidence that these modified siRNAs are compatible with the intracellular RNAi machinery. We studied the effect of the TN modification in a screen involving residue-specific changes in an siRNA targeting Renilla luciferase and we applied the most effective pattern of modification to the knockdown of murine tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α). We also showed that incorporation of TN units into siRNA duplexes increased their thermal stabilities, substantially enhanced serum stabilities, and decreased innate immunostimulation. Comparative RNAi studies involving the TN substitution and locked nucleic acids (LNAs) showed that the gene-silencing activities of TN-modified siRNAs were comparable to those obtained with the LNA modification. An advantage of the North 2′-deoxy-methanocarba modification is that it may be explored further in the future by changing the 2′-position. The results from these studies suggest that this modification might be valuable for the development of siRNAs for therapeutic applications. ; This research was supported by the European Union (MULTIFUN consortium), the Spanish Ministry of Education (BFU2007-63287, CTQ2010-20541), and the Generalitat the Catalunya (2009/SGR/208). This work was funded in part by the Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, NIH. M.T. acknowledges the JAE-Doc 2008 contract (CSIC, Spain) and the Juan de la Cierva contract (MICINN, Spain) for financial support. ; Peer reviewed

Purpose. Vietnamese-Americans (VA) constitute a large minority community that is mostly foreign born with limited English proficiency. This article compares the health content of free print media targeting VA with that of free English-language print media. Design. Content analysis. Setting. All free print media available at the three largest VA-serving supermarkets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were reviewed. Comparison English-language periodicals included free and purchased publications. Measures. We identified and coded 254 health content–containing articles from 22 issues of six periodicals (four free Vietnamese, one free English language, and one purchased English language) collected over a 4-week period. Analysis. Chi-square and t-tests for independent samples were used to compare free Vietnamese- and free English-language periodicals. Additional analyses included all English-language periodicals as the comparison group. Results. Higher proportions of advertisements and "pseudonews" articles (ads formatted like news stories) were found in free Vietnamese- vs. free English-language publications (overt ads, 61% vs. 28%; pseudonews, 18% vs. 0%). Moreover, Vietnamese-language publications did not contain many articles addressing diseases most commonly found in Asian-Americans. Discussion. The significant proportion made up by profit-motivated health content in VA print media points to an untapped opportunity to provide evidence-based information about health topics of interest to this community. Future studies should examine secular trends, assess multiple communities, and develop community-based participatory approaches to improving access to quality health information among minorities with limited English proficiency.

PurposeThe paper aims to attempt to track the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice of the ten largest Polish listed companies. The CSR activity of the top ten companies may not only help to solve or ease several social problems, but it could also increase the awareness among Poles and contribute to the rebuilding of a civic society.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyzes CSR policies in Poland using the case of the ten largest (in terms of market capitalization) companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The analysis covered the CSR (programs), reporting (web site) and the business strategy with reference to CSR.FindingsThe collected evidence suggests that the ten largest Polish companies present a passive approach to CSR activities. The majority of these companies are involved in charities and provide money for a given group of people. A more proactive approach of delivering solutions to social problems is definitely less common. The widely defined sponsoring, targeting different areas and groups remain the most popular CSR activity.Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis covers only the ten largest Polish listed companies. Further research should also refer to other listed companies as well as small and medium companies.Originality/valueThe paper discusses the CSR activities of the largest listed Polish companies and refers these initiatives to the main social challenges resulting from the transition process, the implementation of a liberal economic policy and state withdrawal in the case of a weak and inefficient state and institutions and the lack of a civic society.

Paper delivered to the Workshop on 'Populists and Public Office' ECPR Joint Sessions 22-27 March 2010, Münster ; This paper aims to assess the French Front national's performances in municipal office following its success in securing a majority in four city councils in the mid-1990s. First, a brief account of the local political opportunity structures that participated in the municipal success of the FN is provided. The paper then suggests a characterisation of two divergent models of policy and vote-seeking styles of municipal governance whilst pointing at the commonality in the classic far right agenda underpinning social and cultural policies across the four localities under FN administration. As will be discussed, this strong authoritarian tropism translated into sectoral re-allocation of council financial resources and the targeting of the party's traditional constituency at local level. The building of an electoral clientele paved the way to the development of political corruption and municipal nepotism, which in most cases would later account for the rejection of incumbent FN mayors by voters. Wherever possible, the above framework for analysis is applied to exploring the strategic attempts by the extreme right to get hold of the Northern city of Hénin-Beaumont in the recent 2008 and 2009 municipal elections. The emphasis is on how a more pragmatic line of political communication was again replicated in combination with the populist anti-tax and anti-corruption agenda that had already contributed to the municipal rise of the party in the South in the mid-1990s.

This project is a survey of occupational health and safety within an Australian hospitality organization. The survey seeks to assess understanding/awareness and knowledge of the occupational health and safety concepts of risk management (the combined process of risk/hazard identification, assessment and control) and occupational health and safety consultation. The project seeks to assess any underlying relationship between employee understanding and awareness of these safety related concepts with safety performance data, participation rates and organizational/safety climate. The approach with the literature review was to review the key concepts and theoretical foundations of occupational health and safety legislation (as described above), education and training related duty(s) of care, industry safety performance measures, commonly used occupational health and safety management systems and qualitative and quantitative research into the effects such systems and concepts have on safety performance, participation and climate. These findings were then compared and contrasted with hospitality industry safety performance data, safety and organizational climate surveys and training and education trends within the industry. The projects findings will provide guidance to the hospitality industry in maximizing its limited training and education resources, by targeting specific conceptual areas of safety for formal training, whilst relying on more informal approaches such as learning on the job, mentoring and experience for more occupationally specific hazards/risks. The transferrable nature of these skills will greatly improve productivity, improve OH&S compliance, reduce the costs associated with employee training and reduce workplace incidents.

Paper delivered to the Workshop on 'Populists and Public Office' ECPR Joint Sessions 22-27 March 2010, Münster ; This paper aims to assess the French Front national's performances in municipal office following its success in securing a majority in four city councils in the mid-1990s. First, a brief account of the local political opportunity structures that participated in the municipal success of the FN is provided. The paper then suggests a characterisation of two divergent models of policy and vote-seeking styles of municipal governance whilst pointing at the commonality in the classic far right agenda underpinning social and cultural policies across the four localities under FN administration. As will be discussed, this strong authoritarian tropism translated into sectoral re-allocation of council financial resources and the targeting of the party's traditional constituency at local level. The building of an electoral clientele paved the way to the development of political corruption and municipal nepotism, which in most cases would later account for the rejection of incumbent FN mayors by voters. Wherever possible, the above framework for analysis is applied to exploring the strategic attempts by the extreme right to get hold of the Northern city of Hénin-Beaumont in the recent 2008 and 2009 municipal elections. The emphasis is on how a more pragmatic line of political communication was again replicated in combination with the populist anti-tax and anti-corruption agenda that had already contributed to the municipal rise of the party in the South in the mid-1990s.

Abstract Background Artesunate-amodiaquine (AS-AQ) was introduced in Ghana as the first line drug for treatment of uncomplicated malaria in 2004. We report the perceptions of malaria and malaria treatment behaviour, the community awareness of and perceptions about AS-AQ two years after the introduction of this ACT treatment for malaria. Methods Two surveys were conducted; a cross-sectional survey of 729 randomly selected household heads (urban-362, rural-367) and 282 women with children 75%) in the sampled survey mentioned mosquito bites as the cause of malaria. Other causes mentioned include environmental factors (e.g. dirty surroundings) and standing in the sun. Close to 60% of the household heads and 40% of the care-givers interviewed did not know about AS-AQ. The community respondents who knew about and had ever taken AS-AQ perceived it to be a good drug; although they mentioned they had experienced some side effects including headaches and body weakness. Co-blistered AS-AQ was available in all the government health facilities in the study area. Different formulations of ACTs were however found in urban chemical shops but not in rural chemical stores where monotherapy antimalarials were predominant. Conclusion The knowledge of fever as a symptom of malaria is high among the study population. The awareness of AS-AQ therapy and its side-effect was low in the study area. Community education and sensitization, targeting all categories of the population, has to be intensified to ensure an efficient implementation process.

This article explores how to build political support for law reform designed to achieve economic redistribution. Specifically, I analyze and compare reforms that aim to redistribute by targeting benefits at low-income individuals through an income or means test, versus those that emphasize "universal" allocation of benefits, not conditioned on poverty. I argue that notwithstanding that we should expect universal provision (by definition) to achieve less redistribution than means testing, universalist policies ultimately may be more effective in achieving this goal because they are likely to be more politically durable, and–more intriguingly—to create social conditions that increase toleration for redistribution. I support this argument by drawing upon the growing body of research in psychology and economics suggesting that people have a mixture of self-regarding and other-regarding impulses, and that some forms of social organization are more likely than others to elicit pro-social behavior. Universalist programs, I argue, plausibly increase preferences for redistribution by tapping social norms of reciprocity, generating group identity effects based on a sense of common vulnerability, and serving as a "policy frame" that de-emphasizes the salience of low-income people as an undeserving "out-group." I use a case study of recent social insurance legislation as a springboard for developing an empirical research agenda that would help evaluate the strength of my thesis. The analysis offered by this article has implications for contemporary intellectual debates in such areas as tax policy, public finance, behavioral law and economics, distributive justice, law and psychology, health law.

BACKGROUND: Artesunate-amodiaquine (AS-AQ) was introduced in Ghana as the first line drug for treatment of uncomplicated malaria in 2004. We report the perceptions of malaria and malaria treatment behaviour, the community awareness of and perceptions about AS-AQ two years after the introduction of this ACT treatment for malaria. METHODS: Two surveys were conducted; a cross-sectional survey of 729 randomly selected household heads (urban-362, rural-367) and 282 women with children 75%) in the sampled survey mentioned mosquito bites as the cause of malaria. Other causes mentioned include environmental factors (e.g. dirty surroundings) and standing in the sun. Close to 60% of the household heads and 40% of the care-givers interviewed did not know about AS-AQ. The community respondents who knew about and had ever taken AS-AQ perceived it to be a good drug; although they mentioned they had experienced some side effects including headaches and body weakness. Co-blistered AS-AQ was available in all the government health facilities in the study area. Different formulations of ACTs were however found in urban chemical shops but not in rural chemical stores where monotherapy antimalarials were predominant. CONCLUSION: The knowledge of fever as a symptom of malaria is high among the study population. The awareness of AS-AQ therapy and its side-effect was low in the study area. Community education and sensitization, targeting all categories of the population, has to be intensified to ensure an efficient implementation process.

This Article analyzes the rights of unauthorized migrants and elucidates how these noncitizens are incompletely but importantly integrated into the U.S. legal system. I examine four topics: (1) state and local laws targeting unauthorized migrants, (2) workplace rights and remedies, (3) suppression of evidence from an unlawful search or seizure, and (4) the right to effective counsel in immigration court. These four inquiries show how unauthorized migrants—though unable to assert individual rights as directly as U.S. citizens in the same circumstances—can nevertheless assert rights indirectly and obliquely by making transsubstantive arguments that fall into five general patterns. The first is an institutional competence argument that the wrong decisionmaker acted. The second is an argument that an unauthorized migrant was wronged by a comparatively culpable person. The third is a citizen proxy argument that sustaining an unauthorized migrant's claim will protect a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. The fourth is that an unauthorized migrant may be unable to challenge the substance of a decision, yet may mount a successful procedural surrogate challenge to the way that decision was reached. The fifth is a phantom norm argument that, even if a government action withstands constitutional challenge, it violates a statute or regulation. These patterns illustrate how typical doctrinal relationships and litigation strategies—for example, choosing between equal protection and preemption arguments, or between seeking redress for harms to individuals and harms to groups—shift significantly for unauthorized migrants. These patterns of oblique rights reflect a pervasive national ambivalence about immigration outside the law.