Journal articles on the topic 'Organisational turnaround'

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a research study aimed at comparing the causes of organisational decline and turnaround strategies involved in cases of successful and unsuccessful turnarounds, with a view to identifying the differences, if any, between the two groups, which in turn is expected to provide useful information to academics, practitioners and policy makers. Design/methodology/approach – Since turnaround is a business phenomenon of general interest, their stories are often published in business periodicals, which are a rich source of data on them. In order to tap this data source, the present paper employed a method of content analysis for the proposed investigation on the cause of organisational decline and turnaround strategies used. In order to quantify the data, a three-point scale was developed, where the presence of a cause/strategy is rated as “3”, its ambivalence as “2” and its absence as “1”, whose validity was assessed through the inter-rater agreement indices. The data thus generated are amenable to statistical analyses, using which the more commonly prevalent causes of organisational decline and the strategies commonly employed for turnaround by the successful and unsuccessful companies are identified. Findings – The findings of the present study have generated a few useful insights. First, the primary causes for organisational decline are the internal weaknesses of the organisation; in fact the external changes can adversely affect the organisation only if it is internally weak. Second, organisational decline caused by multiple factors (which is usually the case) can be managed effectively by adopting a variety of strategies; hence a single-pronged strategy is often found to be ineffective. Third, the more successful turnarounds had a diverse portfolio of strategies including those of institution-building, often employed in a phased manner, consistent with the stage theories of turnaround. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of this research arise mainly from the generation of data from published sources and the consequent biases, which can be managed, to a large extent, by using multiple sources for the same case for reducing the publishers’ biases as well as by having multiple raters for identifying the researcher’s biases, if any. Originality/value – The study has highlighted the need for addressing the internal causes of organisational decline on a priority-basis rather than blaming the external factors, besides pointing to the need for adopting a variety of strategies for dealing with the diversity of causes affecting the organisation’s health, particularly the need for institutionalising the changes. These findings can be of help especially to turnaround managers and policy-makers in dealing with organisational decline and thus contribute to the creation and enhancement of economic value.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine how family and business priorities influence organisational decline and turnaround in a family business.Design/methodology/approachFollowing critical realism as philosophical orientation, this research is based on an exploratory single case study.FindingsThis research identified specific socioemotional wealth priorities driving this organisation decline and turnaround. The study also determined how the family and business dynamic leads to decisions that first trigger the organisational decline and then explain the successful implementation of turnaround strategies.Research limitation/implicationsFindings of this research provide limited and contingent theoretical generalisation. Accordingly, replication and further quantitative research is required for a better understanding of this phenomenon.Practical implicationsManagers can benefit from this paper by noting which behaviour could lead to organisational decline and which factors could lead to a turnaround. Similarly, managers can learn about the importance of the alignment of socioemotional wealth priorities as a critical response factor to determine whether to follow exit strategies or turnaround (succession) actions.Originality valueThe study contributes to the organisational decline literature and family business literature. It advances the understanding of how family businesses should balance family and business priorities to avoid organisational decline and identify strategies successfully implemented for turning around.

This study explores the role of strategic leadership in declining firms by empirically examining the association between various CEO characteristics such as duality, tenure, interlocking, founder status, functional background and the turnaround outcome for the firm. Using a match-pair sample of 94 turnaround and 94-non-turnaround Australian firms, results show that turnaround firms are more likely to have CEOs that are also board chairpersons, have more external board appointments and short tenures. In contrast, any significant association between a CEO’s functional background, founder status and likelihood of turnaround was not identified. Overall, the findings provide further empirical support for the role of CEOs strategic leadership in shaping organisational outcomes especially when companies are under performing.

There has been public outcry in South Africa about poor performance of municipalities. That many municipalities are not living up to expectations is confirmed research. Currently, the Department of Governance and Traditional affairs (CoGTA) has developed a Local Government Turnaround Strategy (the LGTAS, 2009) in an attempt to address areas that are riddled with poor performance. A workable theoretical framework is required in municipalities to help bring about change initiatives and reinforce intended change in organisational aspects as captured in the LGTAS (2009). A model for achieving effective organisational change is proposed as the basis for municipal administrative functions and reinforcement of the turnaround strategy.

This study investigates the coevolution of the sources of decline, the turnaround strategy and the human resource strategy (HRS) at Iberia Airlines, together with the influence of employee responses to these strategies. The analysis of several moments of organisational decline at Iberia, comparing measures adopted in pre- and post-financial crisis periods, shows that, in a sector experiencing a fiercely competitive transformation that negatively affects established companies, the use of downsizing in an organisation with internal deficiencies may create further problems within the company, while an HRS based on flexibility-oriented practices and a fostering approach to strategic negotiations will improve the requisite recovery strategy.

This case study demonstrates how leadership was harnessed to turn around a decline in the performance of an aged persons? mental health service ? the Namarra Nursing Home at Caulfield General Medical Centre in Melbourne, Australia. In 2000 the nursing home faced a crisis of public confidence due to failings in the management of quality, clinical risk and human resources within the service. These problems reflected structural and operational shortcomings in the clinical directorate and wider organisation. In this article, we detail the process of turnaround from the perspective of senior executive managers with professional and operational responsibility for the service. This turnaround required attention to local clinical accountability and transformation of the mental health program from a collocated but operationally isolated service to one integrated within the governance structures of the auspicing organisation.

Many public corporations experiencing decline in performance have opted to implement turnaround strategies to improve their performance. This study extends previous research findings by seeking to examine the effect of turnaround strategies on performance of Public Corporations in Kenya, by identifying the turnaround strategies adopted in these Corporations, and to determine the effect of turnaround strategies on their performance. To achieve this objective, correlational research was adopted. The target population comprised 162 public corporations in Kenya. A purposive sample of thirty two (32) corporations was used in the study. A Likert type scale questionnaire was administered to respondents to collect data from the selected public corporations. Primary data was complemented with secondary data collected from the corporations for the previous three years. Data collected was edited and processed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics that is in percentages were used to describe the research variables. Pearsons product moment coefficient was used to examine the relationship between turnaround strategies and organisational performance and multiple regression was used to establish the effect of turnaround strategies on performance of the corporations. The results showed a significant positive relationship between turnaround strategies and performance, P-value<0.05. The positive relationship suggests that when declining corporations implement turnaround strategies (revenue generating and cost reduction strategies) their performance when measured using the balance scorecard measurement tool which measures financial perspective, customer satisfaction, internal business processes and innovation and learning perspectives, will improve positively. The findings also found that cost reduction strategies had a greater effect on the performance of public corporations in Kenya compared to revenue generating strategies. Therefore, it can be recommended that public corporations need to implement turnaround strategies to turn around declining corporations. The study also recommends areas of further research.

Despite the growing awareness of the importance of researching core strategic resources and capabilities for supporting organisational change, the work that has been done to the date has rarely examined and taken into account the relevance of Intellectual Capital (IC) for the success of a company's strategic turnaround program. Moreover, little attention has been given on what encompasses IC and how it can be conceptualised and interpreted in a change management perspective. Through an extensive review of the literature on IC and along with a case study of the Ducati Motor Holding — one of the leading world brands in the sportive motorcycles manufacturing — this paper aims to bridge this gap first of all by identifying which are the key-knowledge assets involved in a turnaround program, and then focusing on the impact IC has on turnaround actions. Findings highlight important implications both for theory and practice, and reveal interesting relationships that suggest further effort should be placed on the development of a knowledge base-view of company's turnaround and on the analysis of the dynamics that links knowledge assets and successful change management programs.

Purpose of the study: The business cycle always occur in banking activities. For that reason, banks often prepare a turnaround strategy to keep banking growing during changes of business cycles during which often happen during changes in the economic situation or changes in the regulation of a country. This article reviews study on banking turnaround strategy (in conventional and Islamic banks) regarding to the model turnaround strategy by Schoenberg, Collier, and Bowman (2013) from January 1990 to December 2017, in order to identify the current state of study and research gap. The publications were classified into process-orientated strategies and content-orientated strategies. The process-orientated strategies were divided into cost efficiencies, asset retrenchment, focus on core activities and build the activities. Meanwhile, the content-orientated strategies were classified into the changes of organisational structure and culture change. Methodology: This paper focuses on peer-reviewed Economy journal, excluding book and book chapters. The keywords included ‘turnaround strategy in banking’ and ‘business cycle’. Articles were only selected if they directly addressed into turnaround banking and the business cycle. The sample was generated by applying a keyword search on Mendeley database. Main Findings: There were 122 out of 250 in the sample analysed on the banking turnaround strategy. The majority of studies were concerned with the process-oriented strategies (such as the focus on core activities and build of the activities). Applications of this study: This study can be useful for strategic management of banking Novelty/Originality of this study: The implementation of turnaround model strategy by Schoenberg, Collier, and Bowman (2013) as the management strategies during the recovery process in banking.

Purpose The decision to operate BPO-IT organisational model by a business process outsourcing (BPO) service provider has far reaching benefits. The purpose of this paper is to develop a service provider’s BPO-IT framework that provides in-house IT function (software) required to process client services. Design/methodology/approach The multi-case study adopted an exploratory sequential mixed method research approach. In the first instance, seven BPO service provider organisations were investigated in the qualitative phase and 156 in the quantitative phase, respectively. Findings The adoption of the developed framework indicates that it could reduce failures in BPO relationships through reduced turnaround time in processing client services, improved quality of service, reduced cost, improved client and provider’s competitiveness, and confidentiality of client operations. Outsourcing clients could lay the foundation for a successful relationship by adopting a selection process that could choose the right provider. Originality/value The paper reveals BPO-IT organisation’s operation towards in-house provision of software required to process client services. A research exploring BPO service providers from a top outsourcing destination like India could provide offshore outsourcing clients the information to move towards onshore outsourcing.

Objective The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of hospital-based eHealth technologies on quality, safety and efficiency of care and clinical outcomes. Methods Systematic reviews and reviews of systematic reviews of eHealth technologies published in PubMed/Medline/Cochrane Library between January 2010 and October 2015 were evaluated. Reviews of implementation issues, non-hospital settings or remote care or patient-focused technologies were excluded from analysis. Methodological quality was assessed using a validated appraisal tool. Outcome measures were benefits and harms relating to electronic medical records (EMRs), computerised physician order entry (CPOE), electronic prescribing (ePrescribing) and computerised decision support systems (CDSS). Results are presented as a narrative overview given marked study heterogeneity. Results Nineteen systematic reviews and two reviews of systematic reviews were included from 1197 abstracts, nine rated as high quality. For EMR functions, there was moderate-quality evidence of reduced hospitalisations and length of stay and low-quality evidence of improved organisational efficiency, greater accuracy of information and reduced documentation and process turnaround times. For CPOE functions, there was moderate-quality evidence of reductions in turnaround times and resource utilisation. For ePrescribing, there was moderate-quality evidence of substantially fewer medications errors and adverse drug events, greater guideline adherence, improved disease control and decreased dispensing turnaround times. For CDSS, there was moderate-quality evidence of increased use of preventive care and drug interaction reminders and alerts, increased use of diagnostic aids, more appropriate test ordering with fewer tests per patient, greater guideline adherence, improved processes of care and less disease morbidity. There was conflicting evidence regarding effects on in-patient mortality and overall costs. Reported harms were alert fatigue, increased technology interaction time, creation of disruptive workarounds and new prescribing errors. Conclusion eHealth technologies in hospital settings appear to improve efficiency and appropriateness of care, prescribing safety and disease control. Effects on mortality, readmissions, total costs and patient and provider experience remain uncertain. What is known about the topic? Healthcare systems internationally are undertaking large-scale digitisation programs with hospitals being a major focus. Although predictive analyses suggest that eHealth technologies have the potential to markedly transform health care delivery, contemporary peer-reviewed research evidence detailing their benefits and harms is limited. What does this paper add? This narrative overview of 19 systematic reviews and two reviews of systematic reviews published over the past 5 years provides a summary of cumulative evidence of clinical and organisational effects of contemporary eHealth technologies in hospital practice. EMRs have the potential to increase accuracy and completeness of clinical information, reduce documentation time and enhance information transfer and organisational efficiency. CPOE appears to improve laboratory turnaround times and decrease resource utilisation. ePrescribing significantly reduces medication errors and adverse drug events. CDSS, especially those used at the point of care and integrated into workflows, attract the strongest evidence for substantially increasing clinician adherence to guidelines, appropriateness of disease and treatment monitoring and optimal medication use. Evidence of effects of eHealth technologies on discrete clinical outcomes, such as morbid events, mortality and readmissions, is currently limited and conflicting. What are the implications for practitioners? eHealth technologies confer benefits in improving quality and safety of care with little evidence of major hazards. Whether EMRs and CPOE can affect clinical outcomes or overall costs in the absence of auxiliary support systems, such as ePrescribing and CDSS, remains unclear. eHealth technologies are evolving rapidly and the evidence base used to inform clinician and managerial decisions to invest in these technologies must be updated continually. More rigorous field research using appropriate evaluation methods is needed to better define real-world benefits and harms. Customisation of eHealth applications to the context of patient-centred care and management of highly complex patients with multimorbidity will be an ongoing challenge.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare measures of socio-economic status (Index of Community Socio-educational Advantage values (ICSEA)), school performance, school funding and school readiness in terms of their impact on student performance. In this respect, the paper tests the proposition – given research that suggests the teacher is the important ingredient in improved student learning performance – that a school principal who has strategical worked to “ready” their teachers for a whole of school teaching improvement agenda will generate increased student learning results than those who have not and further this improvement will occur irrespective of the circumstance of the socio-economic circumstance of the school. Design/methodology/approach In total, 22 Government schools from a single school district in Australia participated in the study, after having been involved in a system sponsored “teaching improvement program”. A survey, consisting of 30 seven-point Likert-style scale items, was administered to all teachers and school leaders in the school district. The survey was designed to rate levels of staff perceived alignment, capability and engagement to the programme as it was implemented by the Head in each school. The information regarding each school’s ICSEA value, funding per student and student learning performance, was obtained from the database provided by the relevant authority (ACARA). All statistical analysis was completed using SPSS Version 22. Findings The findings of this study indicate that high levels of organisational readiness, as defined by the alignment, capability and engagement (ACE) approach, are associated with effective teaching and improvement in student outcomes. In turn, the authors interpret this to mean that the internal organisation of a school has important effects on student achievement that are independent to external factors such as school funding or even the socio-educational positioning of the school. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study indicate that high levels of organisational readiness, as defined by the ACE approach, are associated with effective teaching and improvement in student outcomes. The implications are that the ACE provides a framework for what the school leader needs to focus on when whole of school teaching improvement is the goal. The study did not investigate what the school leader did in each school to ready their staff. Practical implications These findings indicate the importance of leadership in a school and provide an insight into what the school leader needs to focus on when whole of school teaching improvement is the intended goal. This focus can thus be understood as the leader working to ensure all staff members are ACE to the improvement agenda. Social implications The improvement of educational outcomes is a global goal of governments. In this respect, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) school systems in particular have linked education system performance and international competitiveness in ways that place pressure on the “black box” of individual schools. Reports, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment and local testing regimes testify that governments and communities are interested in the academic performance of students within and across schooling systems. The benefits of high performing schools contribute to the standard of living of citizens and the well-being of a society more generally. This paper investigates propositions that focus the work of the school leader to achieving such inherent goals. Originality/value The paper introduces the concept of school readiness. The premise is considered important to the current research because it represents the ability of schools to participate in reform agendas that are characteristic of government policy positions. The “school readiness” approach lies outside the education literature, motivated by the idea that the literature on turning around failing organisations in sectors outside of education provides clear guidelines for reforming schools. The implications for turnaround leadership are particularly encouraging and important particular organisational factors, in common with sectors outside of education, are of significant importance in enhancing teacher motivation, teacher learning and consequential improvements in student outcomes. This paper seeks to add empirical evidence in support of these approaches by adopting what the authors refer as organisational “readiness” for reform developed by Schiemann (2014).

Abstract The aim of this paper is to evaluate the contribution that developments in the area of ethical leadership and trust have made to our understanding of effective people management within organisations. This paper is based on a case study from Harvard Business Review (2007) called "IBM - Leading the Turnaround". The author will use Leader Member Exchange (LMX) theory by Graen and Uhl-Bien (1995) and integrate the ideas of ethical leadership to critically evaluate the leadership style of the CEO of IBM Louis V. Gerstner that led to the turnaround of IBM. In particular, the author will focus on the following question: What role did trust play in the leadership style of Gerstner in the transformation of IBM? When Gerstner became the CEO of IBM in 1993, an $8.1 billion loss on the stock market was announced by IBM; this was one of the largest in U.S. history. Gerstner was facing a difficult job as stock market commentators were rapidly writing off IBM as a 'slow elephant' and, as a result, IBM's workforce was not in any state to accept change. Gerstner's first task was to analyse what was going wrong within IBM, despite having dedicated people, high technological infrastructure, and a sound strategy, he found that IBM was suffering from its own success during the many years of operation. Its own success was its downfall, for it had become slow moving and inward looking. Organisationally, it had become a decentralised 'kingdom' in which none of the business units communicated with each other. Gerstner realised that, if IBM was to be saved, he had to lead this massive organisation through cultural change. He realised that changing the attitude and behaviour of thousands of people was hard to accomplish, but was the main key to success. Management could not change organisational culture through words and policies alone; leaders such as Gerstner had to create the conditions for transformation and invite employees to respond willingly. IBM had a tradition of appointing executives from within. Indeed, Gerstner was the first CEO to be hired form outside; this in itself was revolutionary and created widespread internal concern. Before Gerstner arrived, it was accepted that the break-up of IBM was inevitable. The question was only what form this would take. Morale was at rock-bottom, and Gerstner's appointment did nothing to raise spirits. It was assumed he had been brought in to 'wield the hatchet'. Therefore, it was a real surprise when Gerstner made himself open to input from anyone in the company. It was even more surprising when he announced that IBM's strength lay in its integration and that there would be no break-up. Immediately spirits started to soar. Everyone knew there would be a pain, but now it seemed it would be on a much lower level, and employees were prepared to listen for a change. While it took time to build trust, Gerstner's no-nonsense style created confidence that someone was in charge. His actions were not popular, but they were decisive. It was this that steadily led to a sense of trust; he did what he said he would do, and he proved himself trustworthy. In the next section, the author will provide a background to leader-member exchange (LMX) theory and relate it to ethical leadership so that we can explore the leadership style of Gerstner during the change at IBM.

Most operators are painfully aware that an LNG train turnaround is a time-consuming, complex and expensive undertaking; however, few know why the majority of turnarounds repeatedly overshoot schedules and budgets. The typical turnaround window is planned for 24–28 days, but in reality most take more than 33 days to complete. Why? The answer often is that one cannot plan for the unknown. This typical response masks many inconvenient truths. There are many well-understood reasons for poor turnaround performance, including sub-optimal preparation, limited execution control, silo mentality within the organisation, inaccurate asset data, late inspection reports, and lengthy drawing-update processes. Furthermore, turnaround managers are frustrated by the lack of visibility on progress and the poor quality of information that surfaces when it is too late. Digital Turnaround is a new concept that can significantly improve performance and consists of several elements: asset analytics allowing operators to know the status of the asset data; predictive models to more accurately define scope; mobile management dashboards giving a near real-time view on progress; project systems fully integrated with the emergency response plan; mobile web-based interfaces for contractors to report progress, hours and HSE; and, wi-fi linking the schedule to detailed tracking of equipment, materials and contractors. Digital Turnaround creates new possibilities to execute efficient and safe turnarounds. In this extended abstract the authors share their experience and lessons learned from recent Digital Turnarounds, resulting in the reduction of turnaround durations of more than 10 days, cost reductions of up to 40%, and improved safety performance.

BackgroundThe ability to capture the complexities of healthcare practices and the quick turnaround of findings make rapid ethnographies appealing to the healthcare sector, where changing organisational climates and priorities require actionable findings at strategic time points. Despite methodological advancement, there continue to be challenges in the implementation of rapid ethnographies concerning sampling, the interpretation of findings and management of field research. The purpose of this review was to explore the benefits and challenges of using rapid ethnographies to inform healthcare organisation and delivery and identify areas that require improvement.MethodsThis was a systematic review of the literature using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We used the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool to assess the quality of the articles. We developed the search strategy using the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, Settingframework and searched for peer-reviewed articles in MEDLINE, CINAHL PLUS, Web of Science and ProQuest Central. We included articles that reported findings from rapid ethnographies in healthcare contexts or addressing issues related to health service use.Results26 articles were included in the review. We found an increase in the use of rapid ethnographies in the last 2‰years. We found variability in terminology and developed a typology to clarify conceptual differences. The studies generated findings that could be used to inform policy and practice. The main limitations of the studies were: the poor quality of reporting of study designs, mainly data analysis methods, and lack of reflexivity.ConclusionsRapid ethnographies have the potential to generate findings that can inform changes in healthcare practices in a timely manner, but greater attention needs to be paid to the reflexive interpretation of findings and the description of research methods.Trial registration numberCRD42017065874.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the nature of request for information (RFIs) on construction projects by using data analytics to understand the frequency of RFIs, when they occur on projects, and the relationship between project characteristics and frequency of RFIs and between project characteristics and RFI turnaround time. Design/methodology/approach A data-analytic approach using RStudio and Minitab software on 168 construction project cases in Australia and New Zealand involving 1,032,949 correspondences and 53,042 RFI event records made available by Aconex, one of the world largest cloud-based project management platform. Findings Large and complex projects tend to have significantly larger number of RFI events per day and longer RFI turnaround when compared with smaller and less complex projects. Projects with fewer users per organisation recorded a higher RFI turnaround time when compared with projects with more users per organisation – users mean persons involved in managing the project using the online platform (an index of project complexity). RFIs occur early on less complex projects and occur later on more complex projects. Research limitations/implications Benchmarks of RFI incidences and turnaround time have been developed for various project characteristics and, practitioners can use them to monitor the RFI performance of projects. Organisations need to pay greater attention to staffing levels needed to handle RFIs to reduce RFI turnaround time. Originality/value A data-analytic study of RFI yielded insights for managing RFIs. The findings of previous studies on RFIs are difficult to generalise because they are based on single project case study. The influence of project characteristics on RFI frequency and RFI turnaround time is not yet known.

Subject area Company turnaround, General Management. Study level/applicability Executive education, MBA. Case overview This is a four-part case study in which the case of a company turnaround emerges as the students work through a series of decision-making processes. In teaching the case, the students would only be given Part A to begin with, about which they need to make decisions as to what they would do, as preparation for the first part of the lecture. After that has been discussed, they are provided with the second part which tells them what in fact happened in the situation and leads them to the next decision point, and so on. The case deals with an entrepreneur hearing about a business that has gone insolvent; it then tracks the process from investigating the small manufacturing and sales company through the various stages of its subsequent remarkable turnaround to the point where the protagonist was voted Entrepreneur of the Year in South Africa. It covers the period 2007 to 2012 and includes the annual financial statements. Expected learning outcomes Following are the expected learning outcomes: an understanding of the broad range of management competencies; an understanding of how to turnaround a small organisation; and to experience group-based decision-making. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

Given our current challenges, how can we contribute to making a difference in patient care and service efficiencies? In other words, how can we all work towards changing the narrative and acting in different ways to make a difference to our patients, colleagues, and organisations alike. Whilst not overstating the case, our NHS is being challenged from several angles. Many colleagues are under serious work pressures, are stressed, suffer from low morale, some are voting with their feet and many more are reporting burnout. And yes, some of our patients are not having the timely care that they deserve? Many of our organisations are in financial distress; many are in special measures and Turnaround Regimes.

Subject area Human Resource Management and Public Sector Management. Study level/applicability The target audiences for the case study are BSc, MSc and MBA students and management trainees and executives who are interested in learning the human resource (HR) practices, policies and strategies adopted by the world’s largest commercial employer to ensure complete satisfaction and contentment of their employees and their employee’s family which, in turn, motivates them to contribute more efficiently and effectively for the organisation. Even senior management teams could be targeted in executive education programmes as this case discusses time-tested HR practices, policies and strategies which have been sparsely discussed so far and hence can be expected to provide insights to senior corporate managers. Case overview India has and is undergoing sweeping economic changes lately. There are several organisations that have supported this positive change. Of these, one such organisation, which shouldered the infrastructural burden of the transportation sector in India’s growth story, was the 160-year-old Indian Railways (IR), the world’s largest commercial employer. IR’s profit over the past few years was a far cry from its loss-making days, which tempted the government of India to consider privatisation in 2001. The transformational turnaround would not have been possible but for IR’s employees. After celebrating IR’s 160th anniversary in 2013, the case organisation wished to revisit its HR practices to understand its recent economic transformations and to strategise how they can improve and sustain maximum efficiency in future. The objective of this case study is to understand the “people side” of IR by explaining its current HR practices and to investigate and identify changes over the years so that changes then can be implemented in the context of HR practices for the future. Hence, the case attempts to explain the role of HR management in IR’s turnaround strategies. Resistance exhibited by IR staff towards its recent initiative of enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation across India due to fear of job losses and insecurity is also discussed in the case. Teaching note for this case study explains existing people management frameworks published in the research literature to class participants by applying it to the case company. In addition, the teaching note also discusses how chief personnel officers (CPOs) of IR can pursue the change initiatives among the employees with least resistance. Changes/initiatives that can be imbibed by the CPOs in the existing HR practices to overcome the resistance exerted by the employees and to improve the existing system are also discussed. Expected learning outcomes This case study’s primary objective is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the HR practices being followed in IR, the world’s largest commercial employer. The case also attempts to assess the ERP system initiative by IR and analyse how it can be imbibed into the existing IR’s HR system. In short, the case study attempts to answer the following assignment questions which form the learning objectives of this case study: What are the HR practices that are being followed in the world’s largest commercial employer? How are the HR practices followed helpful in the retention of employees? How can IR pursue the change initiatives, especially ERP implementation, among the employees without any resistance? What are the changes/initiatives that can be imbibed in the HR practices to improve the existing system? Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 6: Human Resource Management.

AbstractThe Rana Plaza disaster of April 2013 was the most prominent of several incidents that have highlighted poor standards of business behaviour in the supply chains of well-known brands. Analysis of these incidents has attributed these poor standards to an institutional structure in which lead firms with strategic power outsource production into global value chains and pursue business models that involve rapid product upgrading and require low costs and fast turnarounds in production such as the garment industry's ‘fast fashion’ business model. This paper aims to complement that analysis by showing how trade marks, as the main legal anchors of brands, have reinforced the strategic power of lead firms, enabled them to outsource production and encouraged them to adopt business models of this kind. The paper will also evaluate the claim that brands mitigate their harmful effects by transmitting countervailing pressure back onto their owners because they provide salient targets for bad publicity and blame, as coverage of the Rana Plaza disaster showed, which can threaten their owners with reputational damage. It will be argued that this countervailing pressure has a limited effect and cannot be relied on without more to address the issues that the Rana Plaza disaster revealed.

The New South Wales Branch of the British Astronomical Association is currently making use of the Sydney Observatory astrograph for cometary astrometry. Astrometric plates (16 × 16 cm) of P/Halley are being taken at a plate scale of 116 arcsec/mm with a field of 5 × 5 degrees. Plate measuring is accomplished by means of a mechanical single screw Hilger measuring machine. Plate reduction utilises the program supplied by the International Halley Watch organisation. Measurement and reduction is facilitated by the machine readable catalogue and plotting routines supplied by the United States Naval Observatory. Currently the BAA observing team is working towards achieving a 24 hr turnaround for plate reductions. This will enable useful contributions to be made during the critical pre-encounter periods.

Employees move out from organsiation for various reasons ranging from personal to official and the cost of hiring employees are also in exponential trend. The investment made in infrastructure, training has initiated organization to focus on employee loyalty. This has grabbed the attention of organizations to turnaround and focus on employee loyalty. BPO/RPO organizations in India are facing the employee attrition from its entry level. As keeping cost leadership is the only opportunity to sustain in the present trend, their investment made over employees builds a kind of conducive environment. Thus the primary objective of the study is to explore organization culture, job security, financial benefits, career development practices, interpersonal relations along with employee commitment towards their loyalty. The study aimed to identify the top three performers in BPO/RPO companies located in four major cities as Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy and Madurai which is a member in NASSCOM. A sample of 30 employees and 10 team leaders were selected in each city based on simple random sampling and it constitutes 480 samples in total. The collected data was analysed using descriptive statistics, one way ANOVA and multiple regression using R language. The Multiple regression co-efficient reveals that out of seven components organization culture, career development, job security, supervisor attitude and relationship with team members has significant impact over employee loyalty. The other component such as financial benefits and employee commitment has no significant impact on employee loyalty.

Human resources remain the most important and valuable assets of every organisation. In effect, the strategic monitoring and management of related environmental factors and employees’ affective well-being for continued presence at work are becoming increasingly fundamental. The mining industry is characterised with different environmental factors and affective well-being puzzle that may likely affect employees’ turnaround time at work. While available studies have largely investigated how environmental factors predict employee’s well-being, what is unclear is how environmental factors and affective well-being determines employee’s absenteeism from work. Using a quantitative study, this study examines how environmental factors and affective well-being influence workers absenteeism in South African mine industry. A total of 280 mineworkers were randomly selected using a descriptive survey of the probability sampling technique. The retrieved data were analysed using both the simple and multivariate regression analysis. The findings revealed that both environmental factors and affective well-being do not predict mine workers absenteeism, although environmental factors show more variation in employee’s absenteeism than affective well-being. Similarly, the different environmental factors including exposure to noise, dust, vibration, temperature and heavy lifting do not show any evidence to have predicted mine workers turnaround time at work, except hazardous materials. The study concludes that mitigating the consequence provoked by hazardous materials on mine workers will significantly increase employees’ presence at work. Thus, the study makes a case for the revitalisation of the South African mining industry, especially in the area of setting out modalities for the control of strenuous environmental factors, particularly hazardous materials in the workplace.

Digital technologies are extending human capability, creating breakthroughs and disruptive levels of performance. It does this by increasing the information and connectedness of people, equipment, processes and systems. Mobility, analytics, cloud, social and smart objects including phone, watches and glasses, all help personnel accomplish tasks, make better decisions and amplify their performance. As an example of digital in action, during a planned turnaround one organisation used radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to connect people, equipment and vehicles, combining these with contractor management dashboards that tracked activity. The results were impressive: safety was enhanced and contractor productivity increased by 15%. But a digital workforce extends beyond RIFD tagging. The end-to-end processing of documents, intelligent work allocation and digitally providing all information required to perform a task is making workforces smarter, faster and more efficient. By consolidating information across operations, work and document management, scheduling and safety systems onto a single platform to provide full visibility, one organisation achieved a 40% savings in the time to allocate work. The company also saw a 10% improvement in tool-time productivity with the right information at the right time. Finally, they are benefitting from immediate and accurate knowledge capture as information is analysed whilst work is being performed. Harnessing digital technologies requires radical rethinking of traditional approaches to resources, jobs and organisation design. This paper will provide insights and examples of how specific digital technologies are being applied to oil and gas operations to achieve new levels of safety, productivity and cost effectiveness.

This article is based on a study of a reform in the organisation of maternity services in the United Kingdom, which aimed towards developing a more woman-centred model of care. After decades of fragmentation and depersonalisation of care, associated with the shift of birth to a hospital setting, pressure by midwives and mothers prompted government review and a relatively radical turnaround in policy. However, the emergent model of care has been profoundly influenced by concepts and technologies of monitoring. The use of such technologies as ultrasound scans, electronic foetal monitoring and oxytocic augmentation of labour, generally supported by epidural anaesthesia for pain relief, have accompanied the development of a particular ecological model of birth – often called active management –, which is oriented towards the idea of an obstetric norm. Drawing on analysis of women’s narrative accounts of labour and birth, this article discusses the impact on women’s embodiment in birth, and the sources of information they use about the status of their own bodies, their labour and that of the child. It also illustrates how the impact on women’s experiences of birth may be mediated by a relational model of support, through the provision of caseload midwifery care.

Background: Turnaround Time (TAT) is an important Quality Indicator in the medical laboratory. The Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH) Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) laboratory was enrolled in the process of World Health Organisation (WHO) - Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) accreditation by FHi360 in preparation for the ISO 15189 accreditation in 2016. One of the services rendered in the laboratory is Early Infant Diagnosis (EID)/Dried Blood Spots (DBS) in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) exposed infants. Clinicians depend on these results to determine the next step for the management of HIV exposed Infants. This study is aimed at assessing the rate of sample rejection (SR), determine the effect of specific intervention on this rate and the effect of SR on TAT. Method: It involves the assessment of samples delivered to the RSUTH PCR Laboratory from January 2019 to March 2020. A baseline rate of sample rejection was established from January to July 2019. Interventional measures were put in place such as introducing the national algorithm for rejection and acceptance of samples, training was also done for EID sample collectors and a final assessment of changes in the rate of sample rejection was determined at the final period of January to March 2020.Results: During the baseline period, sample rejection rate started at 5% in February and went back to 0% in March. In April however, the rate of rejection increased to 9%. There was a decline in rejection rate to 5% and 7% in May and June respectively. A sudden spike in rejection occurred in July at a rate of 19%. The major reasons for sample rejection were DBS cards with insufficient blood spots, DBS cards with clots present in spots, DBS cards that have serum rings and grossly haemolysed DBS. After baseline data was collected and interventions put in place. Sample rejection rate drastically reduced to 1%, 0% and 0% respectively from January to March which is way below the maximum threshold of 2% as advocated by WHO. At baseline EID, TAT was longer than a month, however; with SR, the TAT increased to about seven weeks. The final assessment in March from this study showed a significant reduction in sample rejection to 0%.Conclusion and recommendations: This study has shown that quality improvement is achievable if interventional tools are utilized promptly. This will result in shorter TAT; fewer samples rejected and therefore prompt treatment of exposed infants thus reducing morbidity and mortality due to HIV.

Capital exporting countries have attempted to protect the overseas investments of their multinational corporations (MNC) against host nation governments expropriating these investments, limiting the right to repatriate profits, or subjecting the withdrawal of their investments to heavy penalties. The aborted Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) of the mid-1990s was an attempt at transferring these concerns to a settled legal framework between nations. Some limited expression of this is found in the provisions of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Dispute Settlement Understanding, while more substantive assertions are found in the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions of bilateral trade and investment agreements entered into between developed and developing economies. However, recent legal challenges and associated public relations campaigns by MNC directed at Public Law and Health measures have caused governments to reassess the situation. A classic example of this has been the challenge by tobacco companies against the plain cigarette packaging legislation introduced by the Canadian and Australian governments. The Australian Government's response to this through its statement of position in respect of future bilateral agreements and its Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 (Cth)1 is equally path breaking. This article examines the dramatic turnaround in perspective of States in respect of Investor-State arbitration, and its impact on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) currently being negotiated.

With three major Australian coal seam gas (CSG) to liquefied natural gas export projects in operation phase, there is a need to identify new investment opportunities to maintain the required production and satisfy customer supply agreements. Considering the current global conditions of low commodity prices and the reduced availability of capital, both accuracy of data and efficient front-end decision making are essential. This paper proposes that well-defined front-end data processes and innovative data management technology can empower organisations to identify the value, and quantify the risks, of various development scenarios in a reduced time frame. Arrow Energy’s combined Surat and Bowen gas projects contain thousands of CSG wells currently being considered for further development. This can require the generation of countless technical and commercial scenarios. The challenge was to reduce the turnaround time in running these scenarios and improve accuracy while providing seamless handover and traceability of data. A new approach to data was required. By using global expertise in unconventional gas development projects, a data-centric development planning methodology was implemented. Industry best-practice geospatial tools were developed to introduce a new standard in well field layout scenarios, representing significant cost and schedule savings while improving risk identification and mitigation. This paper outlines a shift from the traditional ‘disposable data’ mentality of front-end development to the creation of ‘live’ datasets that continuously mature to assess and develop CSG projects. It also identifies the significant advantages across the Australian oil and gas industry of implementing basic data management and using new technology to its full extent.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the need for an evolving business model that accounts for social, as well as business-related risks/rewards considerations, that is, for owner-managers with lifestyle as opposed to growth-oriented objectives. Design/methodology/approach The methodological approach undertaken involved in-depth interviews with the firm’s owner-managers, supplemental interviews with members of staff, observation, plus examining documents from secondary sources. Data gathering involved a period of three years to account for an evolving business model over time. Findings The findings from an instrumental case study demonstrate the need to adapt a firm’s business model in the light of changing circumstances. Additionally, in the context of owner-managers with lifestyle as opposed to growth-oriented objectives, to account for social in addition to business-related considerations in planning activities. Originality/value The originality of the study is to incorporate a longitudinal case study in to the entrepreneurial marketing literature. Specifically, this offers implications for business support organisations that advise prospective owner-managers; that is, in respect of the need for effective planning in formulating an evolving and enduring business model. Implications also highlight in a business sense, that turnaround of a poorly performing firm may be possible, for example, to overcome initial inadequate marketing planning. However, for owner-managers with lifestyle as opposed to growth-oriented objectives, a combination of both business and social factors need consideration to maintain a work/life balance. A venture that relies on personal and business relationships may not be viable if the partners cannot work together, no matter if the venture is performing well.

Maintenance experts involved in managing major maintenance activities such as; Major overhauls, outages, shutdowns and turnarounds (MoOSTs) are constantly faced with uncertainties during the planning and/or execution phases, which often stretches beyond the organisation’s standard operating procedures and require the intervention of staff expertise. This underpins a need to complement and sustain existing efforts in managing uncertainties in MoOSTs through the transformation of knowledgeable actions generated from experts’ tacit-based knowledge. However, a vital approach to achieve such transformation is by prioritising maintenance activities during MoOSTs. Two methods for prioritising maintenance activities were adopted in this study; one involved a traditional qualitative method for task criticality assessment. The other, a quantitative method, utilised a Fuzzy inference system, mapping membership functions of two crisp inputs and output accompanied by If-Then rules specifically developed for this study. Prior information from a 5-year quantitative dataset was obtained from a case study with appreciable frequency for performing MoOSTs; in this case, a Rotary Kiln system (RKS) was utilised in demonstrating practical applicability. The selection of the two methods was informed by their perceived suitability to adequately analyse the available dataset. Results and analysis of the two methods indicated that the obtained Fuzzy criticality numbers were more sensitive and capable of examining the degree of changes to membership functions. However, the usefulness of the traditional qualitative method as a complementary approach lies in its ability to provide a baseline for informing expert opinions, which are critical in developing specific If-Then rules for the Fuzzy inference system.

Systematic failure analysis generally enhances the ability of engineering decision-makers to obtain a holistic view of the causal relationships that often exist within the systems they manage. Such analyses are made more difficult by uncertainties and organisational complexities associated with critical and inevitable industrial maintenance activities such as major overhauls, outages, shutdowns, and turnarounds (MoOSTs). This is perhaps due to the ratio of tasks-to-duration typically permitted. While core themes of MoOSTs including planning, contracts, costing, execution, etc., have been the focus of most research activities, it is worth noting that the ability to successfully transfer and retain MoOSTs knowledge is still under-investigated. Effectively implementing a case study-based approach for data collection, the current study explores the harmonisation of various risk assessments (i.e., fault tree analysis and reliability block diagrams) and multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) tools to investigate perceived barriers to MoOSTs knowledge management and experience transfer. The case study selected for this study is a dual process line all-integrated cement manufacturing plant (the largest of such process configuration in its region). The justification for this choice of industry was driven by the volume and frequency of MoOSTs executed each year (typically 4–1 per process line), thereby providing a good opportunity to interact with industrial experts with immense experience in the management/execution of MoOSTs within their industry. A multilayered methodology was adopted for information gathering, whereby baseline knowledge from an earlier conducted systematic review of MoOSTs practices/approaches provided fundamental theoretical trends, which was then complemented by field-based data (from face-to-face interviews, focus group sessions, questionnaires, and secondary information from company MoOSTs documentation). During the analysis, fault tree analysis (FTA) and reliability block diagrams (RBDs) were simultaneously used to generate the causal relationships and criticality that exist between identified barriers, while the MCDA (in this case analytical hierarchy process) was used to identify and prioritise barriers to MoOSTs knowledge management and experience transfer, based on sensitivity analysis and consistency of approach. The primary aim of this study is to logically conceptualise core barriers/limiters to knowledge in temporary industrial project environments such as MoOSTs, as well as enhance the ability of decision-makers to prioritise learning efforts. The results obtained from analysis of data identify three major main criteria (barriers) and 23 subcriteria ranked according to level of importance as indicated from expert opinions.

Subject area Entrepreneurship. Study level/applicability Postgraduate and undergraduate. Case overview The case study focussed on the dairy sector in the southern African country of Zimbabwe. It offered an analysis of the management and business development approaches DHL employed in the country’s dairy sector. The narrative detailed how DHL’s commercial performance progressively declined overtime. Several factors including operational inefficiencies, intensive competition, political, socio-economic issues and natural disasters were attributable to its decline. To mitigate DHL’s business development challenges, Antony and his top management’s reprised “restructure, expand and diversify” strategy only achieved inconsistent commercial results. The scale and size of these results unequivocally necessitated radical entrepreneurial methods to turnaround its fortunes. It was indeed a matter of entrepreneurial decisions! Methodology The case study used secondary analysis as its main strategy for generating relevant data. The rationale for adopting the principles of secondary analysis was to take advantage of quality archived data, public and readily available information concerning DHL’s commercial performance. Setting up to undertake secondary analysis for the purpose of DHL’s narrative was less-expensive, and it was less time-consuming when compared to structured interviews and self-administered questionnaires. Hence, it was deemed appropriate for producing a narrative on a company whose archived financial reports and publicly available research information were accessible. Relevant course levels DHL’s narrative is relevant for students studying entrepreneurship, business management and international business at postgraduate and undergraduate levels. Theoretical basis The multi-dimensional constructs of entrepreneurship and strategic management provided the theoretical basis for constructing a narrative about DHL’s business activities in Zimbabwe’s dairy sector. Particularly, the entrepreneurial decision-making paradigm offered some insight, direction and guidance in analysing the strategies Antony and his top management team applied in their planning and management at DHL. Equally, strategic management theories provided useful instructions for exploring business development issues in a rapidly changing business terrain that was presented by the dairy sector in Zimbabwe. Expected learning outcomes By the end of the lesson students will have had the opportunity to identify the features of an organisation with an entrepreneurial mind set; evaluate the importance of making entrepreneurial decisions in a rapidly changing market such as the dairy industry in Zimbabwe; explore the sort of issues faced by large enterprises in establishing an entrepreneurial architecture; develop an appreciation of the importance of practicing entrepreneurial leadership in rapidly changing business conditions; analyse the importance of developing an effective strategy while considering strategic options necessary to withstand markets such as the dairy sector in Zimbabwe that are characterised with rapid changes. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject Code: CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

BackgroundWhilst the prescribing of both in-patient and discharge medicines is electronic, there was no automatic notification to clinical pharmacists when a discharge prescription was ready to be screened. The notification required a member of medical or nursing staff to bleep their pharmacist informing them of a prescription's availability. This manual process led to a delay in pharmacist screening which impacted on discharge. Prescriptions designated for pre-packed or patient's own medicine use were not seen at all by a clinical pharmacist. The initial intention was to develop a text messaging service; however this was not possible due to significant cost implications and its inflexibility.AimTo decrease the time to clinical pharmacist screening for children's discharge prescriptions.MethodA clinical pharmacist prescription alerting system was designed and implemented. The hospital's eDischarge Summaries are created and stored in the Trust's EPR database. A database query is executed that examines documents that have been signed by a prescriber which contain drug orders. The query runs every 15 minutes, Monday to Friday from 0800–2000. The database query exports a HTML data extract which is then packaged and sent using Exchange.Email was preferred as users access hospital WiFi, only receiving notifications on those laptops or smartphones connected to the Trust's email application. The HTML is embedded within the email body. The email is sent to named individuals within a given distribution list. The function is scalable to support all areas using Trust eDischarge Summaries.The system was introduced in April 2015. Data from before (June 2014–January 2015) and after (June 2015) implementation was compared.ResultsPrior to the introduction of an electronic alerting system the average time from a prescriber signing a prescription to clinical pharmacist screening was 93 minutes. Three months after starting the new system this time has reduced to 62 minutes, a reduction of 31 minutes or 33%. During the same time period, the number of discharge prescriptions screened by pharmacists rose from 172 to 218, an increase in workload of 26%.It has been possible to intervene on prescriptions containing errors which the clinical pharmacists would not previously have screened.ConclusionThe use of an electronic messaging system has met its primary aim to decrease the time delay from signing to pharmacist screening it has also increased pharmacist efficiency as evidenced by the increased workload.One limitation of this system is that it requires a regular e-mail check, for available prescriptions. The report runs every 15 minutes, an email is only sent if a prescription is found.The notification of all discharge prescriptions containing medicines has led to the identification of errors which have required intervention, in those prescriptions that a pharmacist would not have previously seen. These interventions have been for children who have received pre-packed antibiotics directly from the wards or for those where we have provided one-stop dispensing.It is hoped to role out this system across other areas of the organisation which should also enjoy this significant improvement in discharge prescription turnaround.

PurposeOrganisational decline has far-reaching, negative emotional and financial consequences for staff and customers, generating academic and practitioner interest in turnaround change processes. Despite numerous studies to identify the stages during turnarounds, the findings have been inconclusive. The purpose of this paper is to address the gap by defining these stages, or episodes. The characteristics of leaders affect the outcome of organisational change towards turnarounds. This paper focusses, therefore, on the leadership requirements during specific episodes, from the initial crisis to the full recovery phases.Design/methodology/approachA total of 11 semi-structured interviews were conducted with executives from the public sector in South Africa who went through or were going through turnaround change processes and 3 with experts consulting to these organisations.FindingsContrary to current literature in organisational change, this study found that, in these turnaround situations, leadership in the form of either an individual CEO or director general was preferable to shared leadership or leadership distributed throughout the organisation. This study found four critical episodes that occurred during all the public service turnarounds explored, and established that key leadership requirements differ across these episodes. The study shows how these requirements relate to the current literature on transactional, transformational and authentic leadership.Practical implicationsThe findings on the leadership requirements ultimately inform the selection and development of leaders tasked with high-risk turnaround change processes.Originality/valueFour episodes with corresponding leadership requirements were established in the particular context of public sector turnaround change processes.

Background: There is limited understanding about whether and how improvement interventions are effective in supporting failing healthcare organisations and improving the quality of care in high-performing organisations. The aim of this review was to examine the underlying concepts guiding the design of interventions aimed at low and high performing healthcare organisations, processes of implementation, unintended consequences, and their impact on costs and quality of care. The review includes articles in the healthcare sector and other sectors such as education and local government. Methods: We carried out a phased rapid systematic review of the literature. Phase one was used to develop a theoretical framework of organisational failure and turnaround, and the types of interventions implemented to improve quality. The framework was used to inform phase 2, which was targeted and focused on organisational failure and turnaround in healthcare, education and local government settings. We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement to guide the reporting of the methods and findings and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) as a quality assessment tool. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD: 42019131024). Results: Failure is frequently defined as the inability of organisations to meet pre-established performance standards and turnaround as a linear process. Improvement interventions are designed accordingly and are focused on the organisation, with limited system-level thinking. Successful interventions included restructuring senior leadership teams, inspections, and organisational restructuring by external organisations. Limited attention was paid to the potential negative consequences of the interventions and their costs. Conclusion: Dominant definitions of success/failure and turnaround have led to the reduced scope of improvement interventions, the linear perception of turnaround, and lack of consideration of organisations within the wider system in which they operate. Future areas of research include an analysis of the costs of delivering these interventions in relation to their impact on quality of care.

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to demonstrate that basic interventions using method study investigations can improve productivity in the workplace. Continuous improvement of operational processes allows an organisation to develop its capabilities to keep it ahead of its competitors.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-methods approach was used as the research design of the study. It involved an intensive method study investigation at a tap manufacturer to improve productivity. Structured searches using keywords were carried to identify important contributors to research articles in the areas of work-study, method study and productivity.FindingsThe empirical results indicate the essential need for method study investigations to improve productivity in organisations. It can be concluded that the systematic implementation of this methodology will ensure that productivity is enhanced in organisations.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is restricted to a single manufacturing organisation. Literature on method study was found to be limited.Practical implicationsThis research is intended to support organisations by providing a methodology to address areas of inefficiency and also to assist with subsequent turnaround strategies to ensure organisational effectiveness and sustainability.Originality/valueThe essential contribution that this article makes is that it provides organisations with a universally accepted, user-friendly technique to improve organisational effectiveness and productivity with minimal capital outlay.

Abstract Background Inter-organisational collaboration is increasingly prominent within contemporary healthcare systems. A range of collaboration types such as alliances, networks, and mergers have been proposed as a means to turnaround organisations, by reducing duplication of effort, enabling resource sharing, and promoting innovations. However, in practice, due to the complexity of the process, such efforts are often rife with difficulty. Notable contributions have sought to make sense of this area; however, further understanding is needed in order to gain a better understanding of why some inter-organisational collaborations work when others do not, to be able to more effectively implement collaborations in the future. Methods Realist review methodology was used with the intention of formulating context-mechanism-outcome configurations (CMOCs) to explain how inter-organisational collaborations work and why, combining systematic and purposive literature search techniques. The systematic review encompassed searches for reviews, commentaries, opinion pieces, and case studies on HMIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Social Policy and Practice databases, and further searches were conducted using Google Scholar. Data were extracted from included studies according to relevance to the realist review. Results Fifty-three papers were included, informing the development of programme theories of how, why, and when inter-organisational collaborations in healthcare work. Formulation of our programme theories incorporated the concepts of partnership synergy and collaborative inertia and found that it was essential to consider mechanisms underlying partnership functioning, such as building trust and faith in the collaboration to maximise synergy and thus collaborative performance. More integrative or mandated collaboration may lean more heavily on contract to drive collaborative behaviour. Conclusion As the first realist review of inter-organisational collaborations in healthcare as an intervention for improvement, this review provides actionable evidence for policymakers and implementers, enhancing understanding of mechanisms underlying the functioning and performing of inter-organisational collaborations, as well as how to configure the context to aid success. Next steps in this research will test the results against further case studies and primary data to produce a further refined theory. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42019149009

The case describes how a leader simultaneously addresses various aspects of business and people management to achieve a turnaround. The actions taken by the leader to get rid of the non-functional practices, nurture the existing practices, and create new strategies and processes to accomplish business growth are described. The leader reshapes the organisational culture in partnership with the human resource department. The case can be used to show the different leadership styles (transactional and transformational) and tactics for managing change-partnering with HR to revamp people practices, cherry-pick and develop the right talent, etc.

This article is part of the research ‘The Social Work Reconceptualization Movement in Latin America: Historical Determinants, International Interlocutions and Memory’. It portrays the 1960s’ socio-political framework in Latin America, as well as the cultural, ideo-political and socio-economic processes that have deeply affected global societies. In this context, it situates the contribution of the Latin American Social Work Centre to the Reconceptualisation Movement of social work in Latin America, when breaking with traditional social work, and the so-called ‘turnaround’ of Brazilian social work, responsible for profound transformations in academic and professional development and education, professional activity, and organisation, through the political articulation of several professional entities.

AimsIn the time of COVID-19, predictive molecular pathology laboratories must still timely select oncological patients for targeted treatments. However, the need to respect social distancing measures may delay results generated by laboratory-developed tests based on sequential steps a long hands-on time. Laboratory workflows should now be simplified.MethodsThe organisation of the University of Naples Federico II predictive pathology laboratory was assessed before (March–April 2019) and during (March–April 2020) the Italian lockdown.ResultsThe number of patients undergoing single or multiple biomarker testing was similar in 2019 (n=43) and in 2020 (n=45). Considering adequate samples for molecular testing, before the outbreak, next-generation sequencing was mostly used (35/42, 83.3%). Testing six genes had a reagent cost of €98/patient. Conversely, in 2020, almost all cases (38/41, 92.7%) were analysed by automated testing. This latter had for any single assay/gene a significant reagent cost (€95–€136) and a faster mean turnaround time (5.3 vs 7.9 working days).ConclusionIn the times of coronavirus, laboratory fully automated platforms simplify predictive molecular testing. Laboratory staff may be more safely and cost-effectively managed.

SummaryThis article poses three questions about the recent resurgence of academic and policy interest in migration, development and diasporas. First, over many years the connection between migration and development has been of marginal interest for many of those involved in the field of development studies; in many cases, where it has been considered, migration has been seen as a symptom of a development failure and cause of further underdevelopment. What has changed to bring about the dramatic turnaround in views in the last decade? Second, governments and development organisations are increasingly focusing on the role of ‘diasporas’ in the process of development. The attempts to co-opt diasporas into existing development practice tend to assume that they share a common set of interests and aspirations with the development industry.Here, we ask who is included within these diasporas and why should they be expected to contribute to development? This leads to the third question: what is the nature of development in which we are anticipating that the migration process and diasporas should play a role? This article argues that existing models of development are inherently sedentary and struggle to incorporate migration. In the increasingly mobile world new concepts of development are required. An open and critical dialogue between diaspora members and the development industry may help to achieve this.

Purpose: Reports of business failure elicit various reactions, while research in this domain often appears to be limited by a lack of access to information about failure and by the negativity that surrounds it. Those who have experienced failure do not readily talk about it, or they disappear from the radar screen of researchers. Yet failure is preceded by decline which, when focused on strategically, can reduce eventual failures if early action is taken. The main purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework or typology of the drivers and moderators of business decline. Design/methodology/approach: After applying the "grounded theory" approach to the academic literature on decline and failure, a conceptual framework for the variables that drive and moderate business decline is proposed. Findings: The study proposes that decline has three core drivers, three peripheral drivers and four moderators. The core drivers identified are: resource munificence; leadership as origin; and causality (strategic versus operational origin of decline). The three peripheral drivers are: unique preconditions; continuous decisions impact; and extremes dichotomy. The study describes four moderators of the drivers: life cycle stage; stakeholder perspective; quantitative versus qualitative nature of signs and causes; and finally the age and size effects. Research limitations/implications: The proposed conceptual framework is based on literature only, although it has found support during discussions with practitioners. It is proposed to readers of this journal for scrutiny and validation. Practical implications: Strategists need to understand what drives decline in order to act timeously; practitioners who have an insight into the moderators with their impacts could make better decisions in response to decline in organisations and possibly avoid business failure. Originality/Value: Understanding business decline is still a huge theoretical challenge, which drives turnaround strategies chosen by management. The proposed conceptual framework has this as its focus.

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the major cause of death worldwide, and the leading causes of mortality in developing countries like India. Smear microscopy has certain limits as it requires 10,000 bacilli/mL for positivity, culture methods takes longer turnaround time of around 6-8 weeks. The recent advancement like Genexpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis/Rifampicin (MTB/RIF) Assay, which has more accuracy and analysis where it detects MTB and RIF resistance in smear negative including immunosuppressive patients even with a volume of 138 cfu (colony forming units)/mL in less than two hours. World Health Organisation (WHO) also recommended new Cartridge Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CB-NAAT) on 2010 and named as GeneXpert system for diagnosis of TB. Aim: To evaluate the patterns of RIF Resistance by GeneXpert as a Rapid and primary screening test in TB patients. Materials and Methods: Both pulmonary and extra pulmonary samples were subjected to AFB (Acid Fast Bacilli) smear microscopy before being tested for GeneXpert MTB/RIF Assay. MTB detected samples were further tested at National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT) to confirm RIF resistance and to find out associated resistance to Isoniazid and other second line drugs like fluroquinolones, kanamycin, capreomycin and amikacin. All statistical analysis were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15.0. Results: A total of 8140 samples were tested for CB-NAAT, MTB was not detected in 4414 samples, MTB detected and RIF Sensitive in 3554 samples, MTB detected and RIF resistance in 172 samples. Among these RIF Resistant samples 97% were retreatment patients and the primary drug resistance was less common. HIV/TB co-infected contributes to 1% of resistance and there was no gender preponderance. RIF mono-resistance was found in majority of patients. Conclusion: Genexpert has higher specificity for early detection of RIF resistance as a surrogate marker of MDR-TB to initiate early treatment and prevent transmission of Multi Drug Resistance (MDR) strains.

Study level/applicability The case is suitable for all post-graduate students and executives doing a course in human resource management (HRM). The case will enable these students to apply concepts such as inclusion, empowerment, glass ceiling, in business situations involving women. It will help them to trace the evolution path for women employees who have the traits to lead a department or organisation and assume entrepreneurial roles. Subject Area The case study is particularly beneficial for MBA students specialising in HRM focussed on leadership and training. It can be used in courses such as gender and entrepreneurship for students of MBA entrepreneurship and MBA family business management. As the case is written in India, it can explore the gender issues in emerging markets surreptitiously. Most importantly, the case addresses COVID-19 perspective adequately, to teach modules embedded in main courses of any MBA program. Case overview PRISM World Pvt Ltd is a leading training and consultancy firm in Delhi, India. The firm is owned and managed by a young woman Dr Anubha Walia. She started her career as a human resource manager in leading Indian companies, but somewhere down the line, she felt the job was not allowing her to realise the fullest potential. The Indian corporate training industry was male dominated with self-serving men, supporting the “glass ceiling”. To break the barrier, Anubha opened her training firm founded on the basis of a new philosophy, which should serve the ideals of helping and promoting women in workplace. This new philosophy was called PRISM. Anubha provided an inclusive environment which allowed her trainers to grow and feel empowered in a gender-biased industry.Very recently, when COVID-19 pandemic happened, female trainers were under tremendous strain as training requirements completely dried up, and they were rendered jobless. Most of these educated young women had small kids and paid monthly installments for their home loans, sharing the financial burden with their husbands. Some mature trainers were single women who had to support themselves through savings in these difficult times. But Anubha’s sense of empowerment at PRISM helped these women to do things which made their livelihoods turnaround even in uncertain circumstances. PRISM philosophy made a turnaround too. While employees were thinking of abandoning their companies and vice-versa, trainers at PRISM went for free webinars to draw clients to their firms and changed the concept of training and delivery in corona times.PRISM acquired a new meaning of wellness and spirituality in these difficult times and soared ahead successfully. Expected learning outcomes The case study hopes to achieve the following pedagogical objectives: 1. To educate students on manners and traits of women entrepreneurs. Besides, the usual difficulties of financing and running a business, women face adversities at home in the form of lack of access to working capital, trust deficit amongst family and friends. Basically, lack of support system to propels women into the tougher role of an entrepreneur graduating from a regular employee. Gender becomes a disability, which women had to fight in the workplace. The case introduces the PRISM philosophy as a unique methodology to inculcate inclusivity in work environment leading to women empowerment. 2. To outline all issues related to ‘glass ceiling” – the barrier which existed in the corporate world for businesswomen. Students need to know about problems women faced in the business environment as well as shortcomings within themselves, which can make them unproductive. 3. To align students first hand with the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, specific to women. The case talks about educated young and mature women in Anubha’s firm PRISM, fighting for lost livelihood owing to reduced levels of business. But women are known to be highly resilient and empowered in the right direction will turnaround the situation in their favour. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Social implications The case has tremendous social implication for educated working women in traditional patriarchal Indian societies. Though a sizeable percentage of women have achieved higher education and started working in a male-dominated corporate world, only a small number of them are visible as entrepreneurs and/or leaders. Every woman needs to trace her journey from an employee to an entrepreneur or a CEO to assume a position of leadership. This case can be an eye opener for many such ambitious women who can build small- to mid-size businesses in a short span of time. Digital intervention is very important in COVID times to stay afloat. The author has shared links for many videos which can disseminate ideas for digital transformation in businesses. The case tries to showcase an ideal inclusive environment which will propel women to achieve their latent goals and desires breaking the 'glass ceiling.' Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

“Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them [...] life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.” (Garcia Marquez 165) Introduction The refugee experience is, at heart, one of rebirth. Just as becoming a new, distinctive being—biological birth—necessarily involves the physical separation of mother and infant, so becoming a refugee entails separation from a "mother country." This mother country may or may not be a recognised nation state; the point is that the refugee transitions from physical connectedness to separation, from insider to outsider, from endemic to alien. Like babies, refugees may have little control over the timing and conditions of their expulsion. Successful resettlement requires not one rebirth but multiple rebirths—resettlement is a lifelong process (Layton)—which in turn require hope, imagination, and energy. In rebirthing themselves over and over again, people who have fled or been forced from their homelands become both mother and child. They do not go through this rebirthing alone. A range of agencies and individuals may be there to assist, including immigration officials, settlement services, schools and teachers, employment agencies and employers, English as a Second Language (ESL) resources and instructors, health-care providers, counsellors, diasporic networks, neighbours, church groups, and other community organisations. The nature, intensity, and duration of these “midwives’” interventions—and when they occur and in what combinations—vary hugely from place to place and from person to person, but there is clear evidence that post-migration experiences have a significant impact on settlement outcomes (Fozdar and Hartley). This paper draws on qualitative research I did in 2012 in a regional town in New South Wales to illuminate some of the ways in which settlement aides ease, or impede, refugees’ rebirth as fully recognised and participating Australians. I begin by considering what it means to be resilient before tracing some of the dimensions of the resettlement process. In doing so, I draw on data from interviews and focus groups with former refugees, service providers, and other residents of the town I shall call Easthaven. First, though, a word about Easthaven. As is the case in many rural and regional parts of Australia, Easthaven’s population is strongly dominated by Anglo Celtic and Saxon ancestries: 2011 Census data show that more than 80 per cent of residents were born in Australia (compared with a national figure of 69.8 per cent) and about 90 per cent speak only English at home (76.8 per cent). Almost twice as many people identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander as the national figure of 2.5 per cent (Australian Bureau of Statistics). For several years Easthaven has been an official “Refugee Welcome Zone”, welcoming hundreds of refugees from diverse countries in Africa and the Middle East as well as from Myanmar. This reflects the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s drive to settle a fifth of Australia’s 13,750 humanitarian entrants a year directly in regional areas. In Easthaven’s schools—which is where I focused my research—almost all of the ESL students are from refugee backgrounds. Defining Resilience Much of the research on human resilience is grounded in psychology, with a capacity to “bounce back” from adverse experiences cited in many definitions of resilience (e.g. American Psychological Association). Bouncing back implies a relatively quick process, and a return to a state or form similar to that which existed before the encounter with adversity. Yet resilience often requires sustained effort and significant changes in identity. As Jerome Rugaruza, a former UNHCR refugee, says of his journey from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Australia: All the steps begin in the burning village: you run with nothing to eat, no clothes. You just go. Then you get to the refugee camp […] You have a little bread and you thank god you are safe. Then after a few years in the camp, you think about a future for your children. You arrive in Australia and then you learn a new language, you learn to drive. There are so many steps and not everyone can do it. (Milsom) Not everyone can do it, but a large majority do. Research by Graeme Hugo, for example, shows that although humanitarian settlers in Australia face substantial barriers to employment and initially have much higher unemployment rates than other immigrants, for most nationality groups this difference has disappeared by the second generation: “This is consistent with the sacrifice (or investment) of the first generation and the efforts extended to attain higher levels of education and English proficiency, thereby reducing the barriers over time.” (Hugo 35). Ingrid Poulson writes that “resilience is not just about bouncing. Bouncing […] is only a reaction. Resilience is about rising—you rise above it, you rise to the occasion, you rise to the challenge. Rising is an active choice” (47; my emphasis) I see resilience as involving mental and physical grit, coupled with creativity, aspiration and, crucially, agency. Dimensions of Resettlement To return to the story of 41-year-old Jerome Rugaruza, as related in a recent newspaper article: He [Mr Rugaruza] describes the experience of being a newly arrived refugee as being like that of a newborn baby. “You need special care; you have to learn to speak [English], eat the different food, create relationships, connections”. (Milsom) This is a key dimension of resettlement: the adult becomes like an infant again, shifting from someone who knows how things work and how to get by to someone who is likely to be, for a while, dependent on others for even the most basic things—communication, food, shelter, clothing, and social contact. The “special care” that most refugee arrivals need initially (and sometimes for a long time) often results in their being seen as deficient—in knowledge, skills, dispositions, and capacities as well as material goods (Keddie; Uptin, Wright and Harwood). As Fozdar and Hartley note: “The tendency to use a deficit model in refugee resettlement devalues people and reinforces the view of the mainstream population that refugees are a liability” (27). Yet unlike newborns, humanitarian settlers come to their new countries with rich social networks and extensive histories of experience and learning—resources that are in fact vital to their rebirth. Sisay (all names are pseudonyms), a year 11 student of Ethiopian heritage who was born in Kenya, told me with feeling: I had a life back in Africa [her emphasis]. It was good. Well, I would go back there if there’s no problems, which—is a fact. And I came here for a better life—yeah, I have a better life, there’s good health care, free school, and good environment and all that. But what’s that without friends? A fellow student, Celine, who came to Australia five years ago from Burundi via Uganda, told me in a focus group: Some teachers are really good but I think some other teachers could be a little bit more encouraging and understanding of what we’ve gone through, because [they] just look at you like “You’re year 11 now, you should know this” […] It’s really discouraging when [the teachers say] in front of the class, “Oh, you shouldn’t do this subject because you haven’t done this this this this” […] It’s like they’re on purpose to tell you “you don’t have what it takes; just give up and do something else.” As Uptin, Wright and Harwood note, “schools not only have the power to position who is included in schooling (in culture and pedagogy) but also have the power to determine whether there is room and appreciation for diversity” (126). Both Sisay and Celine were disheartened by the fact they felt some of their teachers, and many of their peers, had little interest in or understanding of their lives before they came to Australia. The teachers’ low expectations of refugee-background students (Keddie, Uptin, Wright and Harwood) contrasted with the students’ and their families’ high expectations of themselves (Brown, Miller and Mitchell; Harris and Marlowe). When I asked Sisay about her post-school ambitions, she said: “I have a good idea of my future […] write a documentary. And I’m working on it.” Celine’s response was: “I know I’m gonna do medicine, be a doctor.” A third girl, Lily, who came to Australia from Myanmar three years ago, told me she wanted to be an accountant and had studied accounting at the local TAFE last year. Joseph, a father of three who resettled from South Sudan seven years ago, stressed how important getting a job was to successful settlement: [But] you have to get a certificate first to get a job. Even the job of cleaning—when I came here I was told that somebody has to go to have training in cleaning, to use the different chemicals to clean the ground and all that. But that is just sweeping and cleaning with water—you don’t need the [higher-level] skills. Simple jobs like this, we are not able to get them. In regional Australia, employment opportunities tend to be limited (Fozdar and Hartley); the unemployment rate in Easthaven is twice the national average. Opportunities to study are also more limited than in urban centres, and would-be students are not always eligible for financial assistance to gain or upgrade qualifications. Even when people do have appropriate qualifications, work experience, and language proficiency, the colour of their skin may still mean they miss out on a job. Tilbury and Colic-Peisker have documented the various ways in which employers deflect responsibility for racial discrimination, including the “common” strategy (658) of arguing that while the employer or organisation is not prejudiced, they have to discriminate because of their clients’ needs or expectations. I heard this strategy deployed in an interview with a local businesswoman, Catriona: We were advertising for a new technician. And one of the African refugees came to us and he’d had a lot of IT experience. And this is awful, but we felt we couldn't give him the job, because we send our technicians into people's houses, and we knew that if a black African guy rocked up at someone’s house to try and fix their computer, they would not always be welcomed in all—look, it would not be something that [Easthaven] was ready for yet. Colic-Peisker and Tilbury (Refugees and Employment) note that while Australia has strict anti-discrimination legislation, this legislation may be of little use to the people who, because of the way they look and sound (skin colour, dress, accent), are most likely to face prejudice and discrimination. The researchers found that perceived discrimination in the labour market affected humanitarian settlers’ sense of satisfaction with their new lives far more than, for example, racist remarks, which were generally shrugged off; the students I interviewed spoke of racism as “expected,” but “quite rare.” Most of the people Colic-Peisker and Tilbury surveyed reported finding Australians “friendly and accepting” (33). Even if there is no active discrimination on the basis of skin colour in employment, education, or housing, or overt racism in social situations, visible difference can still affect a person’s sense of belonging, as Joseph recounts: I think of myself as Australian, but my colour doesn’t [laughs] […] Unfortunately many, many Australians are expecting that Australia is a country of Europeans … There is no need for somebody to ask “Where do you come from?” and “Do you find Australia here safe?” and “Do you enjoy it?” Those kind of questions doesn’t encourage that we are together. This highlights another dimension of resettlement: the journey from feeling “at home” to feeling “foreign” to, eventually, feeling at home again in the host country (Colic-Peisker and Tilbury, Refugees and Employment). In the case of visibly different settlers, however, this last stage may never be completed. Whether the questions asked of Joseph are well intentioned or not, their effect may be the same: they position him as a “forever foreigner” (Park). A further dimension of resettlement—one already touched on—is the degree to which humanitarian settlers actively manage their “rebirth,” and are allowed and encouraged to do so. A key factor will be their mastery of English, and Easthaven’s ESL teachers are thus pivotal in the resettlement process. There is little doubt that many of these teachers have gone to great lengths to help this cohort of students, not only in terms of language acquisition but also social inclusion. However, in some cases what is initially supportive can, with time, begin to undermine refugees’ maturity into independent citizens. Sharon, an ESL teacher at one of the schools, told me how she and her colleagues would give their refugee-background students lifts to social events: But then maybe three years down the track they have a car and their dad can drive, but they still won’t take them […] We arrive to pick them up and they’re not ready, or there’s five fantastic cars in the driveway, and you pick up the student and they say “My dad’s car’s much bigger and better than yours” [laughs]. So there’s an expectation that we’ll do stuff for them, but we’ve created that [my emphasis]. Other support services may have more complex interests in keeping refugee settlers dependent. The more clients an agency has, the more services it provides, and the longer clients stay on its books, the more lucrative the contract for the agency. Thus financial and employment imperatives promote competition rather than collaboration between service providers (Fozdar and Hartley; Sidhu and Taylor) and may encourage assumptions about what sorts of services different individuals and groups want and need. Colic-Peisker and Tilbury (“‘Active’ and ‘Passive’ Resettlement”) have developed a typology of resettlement styles—“achievers,” “consumers,” “endurers,” and “victims”—but stress that a person’s style, while influenced by personality and pre-migration factors, is also shaped by the institutions and individuals they come into contact with: “The structure of settlement and welfare services may produce a victim mentality, leaving members of refugee communities inert and unable to see themselves as agents of change” (76). The prevailing narrative of “the traumatised refugee” is a key aspect of this dynamic (Colic-Peisker and Tilbury, “‘Active’ and ‘Passive’ Resettlement”; Fozdar and Hartley; Keddie). Service providers may make assumptions about what humanitarian settlers have gone through before arriving in Australia, how they have been affected by their experiences, and what must be done to “fix” them. Norah, a long-time caseworker, told me: I think you get some [providers] who go, “How could you have gone through something like that and not suffered? There must be—you must have to talk about this stuff” […] Where some [refugees] just come with the [attitude] “We’re all born into a situation; that was my situation, but I’m here now and now my focus is this.” She cited failure to consider cultural sensitivities around mental illness and to recognise that stress and anxiety during early resettlement are normal (Tilbury) as other problems in the sector: [Newly arrived refugees] go through the “happy to be here” [phase] and now “hang on, I’ve thumped to the bottom and I’m missing my own foods and smells and cultures and experiences”. I think sometimes we’re just too quick to try and slot people into a box. One factor that appears to be vital in fostering and sustaining resilience is social connection. Norah said her clients were “very good on the mobile phone” and had links “everywhere,” including to family and friends in their countries of birth, transition countries, and other parts of Australia. A 2011 report for DIAC, Settlement Outcomes of New Arrivals, found that humanitarian entrants to Australia were significantly more likely to be members of cultural and/or religious groups than other categories of immigrants (Australian Survey Research). I found many examples of efforts to build both bonding and bridging capital (Putnam) in Easthaven, and I offer two examples below. Several people told me about a dinner-dance that had been held a few weeks before one of my visits. The event was organised by an African women’s group, which had been formed—with funding assistance—several years before. The dinner-dance was advertised in the local newspaper and attracted strong interest from a broad cross-section of Easthaveners. To Debbie, a counsellor, the response signified a “real turnaround” in community relations and was a big boon to the women’s sense of belonging. Erica, a teacher, told me about a cultural exchange day she had organised between her bush school—where almost all of the children are Anglo Australian—and ESL students from one of the town schools: At the start of the day, my kids were looking at [the refugee-background students] and they were scared, they were saying to me, "I feel scared." And we shoved them all into this tiny little room […] and they had no choice but to sit practically on top of each other. And by the end of the day, they were hugging each other and braiding their hair and jumping and playing together. Like Uptin, Wright and Harwood, I found that the refugee-background students placed great importance on the social aspects of school. Sisay, the girl I introduced earlier in this paper, said: “It’s just all about friendship and someone to be there for you […] We try to be friends with them [the non-refugee students] sometimes but sometimes it just seems they don’t want it.” Conclusion A 2012 report on refugee settlement services in NSW concludes that the state “is not meeting its responsibility to humanitarian entrants as well as it could” (Audit Office of New South Wales 2); moreover, humanitarian settlers in NSW are doing less well on indicators such as housing and health than humanitarian settlers in other states (3). Evaluating the effectiveness of formal refugee-centred programs was not part of my research and is beyond the scope of this paper. Rather, I have sought to reveal some of the ways in which the attitudes, assumptions, and everyday practices of service providers and members of the broader community impact on refugees' settlement experience. What I heard repeatedly in the interviews I conducted was that it was emotional and practical support (Matthews; Tilbury), and being asked as well as told (about their hopes, needs, desires), that helped Easthaven’s refugee settlers bear themselves into fulfilling new lives. References Audit Office of New South Wales. Settling Humanitarian Entrants in New South Wales—Executive Summary. May 2012. 15 Aug. 2013 ‹http://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/245/02_Humanitarian_Entrants_2012_Executive_Summary.pdf.aspx?Embed=Y>. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2011 Census QuickStats. Mar. 2013. 11 Aug. 2013 ‹http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/0>. Australian Survey Research. Settlement Outcomes of New Arrivals—Report of Findings. Apr. 2011. 15 Aug. 2013 ‹http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/research/_pdf/settlement-outcomes-new-arrivals.pdf>. Brown, Jill, Jenny Miller, and Jane Mitchell. “Interrupted Schooling and the Acquisition of Literacy: Experiences of Sudanese Refugees in Victorian Secondary Schools.” Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 29.2 (2006): 150-62. Colic-Peisker, Val, and Farida Tilbury. “‘Active’ and ‘Passive’ Resettlement: The Influence of Supporting Services and Refugees’ Own Resources on Resettlement Style.” International Migration 41.5 (2004): 61-91. ———. Refugees and Employment: The Effect of Visible Difference on Discrimination—Final Report. Perth: Centre for Social and Community Research, Murdoch University, 2007. Fozdar, Farida, and Lisa Hartley. “Refugee Resettlement in Australia: What We Know and Need To Know.” Refugee Survey Quarterly 4 Jun. 2013. 12 Aug. 2013 ‹http://rsq.oxfordjournals.org/search?fulltext=fozdar&submit=yes&x=0&y=0>. Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. Love in the Time of Cholera. London: Penguin Books, 1989. Harris, Vandra, and Jay Marlowe. “Hard Yards and High Hopes: The Educational Challenges of African Refugee University Students in Australia.” International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 23.2 (2011): 186-96. Hugo, Graeme. A Significant Contribution: The Economic, Social and Civic Contributions of First and Second Generation Humanitarian Entrants—Summary of Findings. Canberra: Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 2011. Keddie, Amanda. “Pursuing Justice for Refugee Students: Addressing Issues of Cultural (Mis)recognition.” International Journal of Inclusive Education 16.12 (2012): 1295-1310. Layton, Robyn. "Building Capacity to Ensure the Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups." Creating Our Future conference, Adelaide, 28 Jul. 2012. Milsom, Rosemarie. “From Hard Luck Life to the Lucky Country.” Sydney Morning Herald 20 Jun. 2013. 12 Aug. 2013 ‹http://www.smh.com.au/national/from-hard-luck-life-to-the-lucky-country-20130619-2oixl.html>. Park, Gilbert C. “’Are We Real Americans?’: Cultural Production of Forever Foreigners at a Diversity Event.” Education and Urban Society 43.4 (2011): 451-67. Poulson, Ingrid. Rise. Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, 2008. Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. Sidhu, Ravinder K., and Sandra Taylor. “The Trials and Tribulations of Partnerships in Refugee Settlement Services in Australia.” Journal of Education Policy 24.6 (2009): 655-72. Tilbury, Farida. “‘I Feel I Am a Bird without Wings’: Discourses of Sadness and Loss among East Africans in Western Australia.” Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 14.4 (2007): 433-58. ———, and Val Colic-Peisker. “Deflecting Responsibility in Employer Talk about Race Discrimination.” Discourse & Society 17.5 (2006): 651-76. Uptin, Jonnell, Jan Wright, and Valerie Harwood. “It Felt Like I Was a Black Dot on White Paper: Examining Young Former Refugees’ Experience of Entering Australian High Schools.” The Australian Educational Researcher 40.1 (2013): 125-37.

Introduction: Our current obsession with the lives of others “Biography—that is to say, our creative and non-fictional output devoted to recording and interpreting real lives—has enjoyed an extraordinary renaissance in recent years,” writes Nigel Hamilton in Biography: A Brief History (1). Ian Donaldson agrees that biography is back in fashion: “Once neglected within the academy and relegated to the dustier recesses of public bookstores, biography has made a notable return over recent years, emerging, somewhat surprisingly, as a new cultural phenomenon, and a new academic adventure” (23). For over a decade now, commentators having been making similar observations about our obsession with the intimacies of individual people’s lives. In a lecture in 1994, Justin Kaplan asserted the West was “a culture of biography” (qtd. in Salwak 1) and more recent research findings by John Feather and Hazel Woodbridge affirm that “the undiminished human curiosity about other peoples lives is clearly reflected in the popularity of autobiographies and biographies” (218). At least in relation to television, this assertion seems valid. In Australia, as in the USA and the UK, reality and other biographically based television shows have taken over from drama in both the numbers of shows produced and the viewers these shows attract, and these forms are also popular in Canada (see, for instance, Morreale on The Osbournes). In 2007, the program Biography celebrated its twentieth anniversary season to become one of the longest running documentary series on American television; so successful that in 1999 it was spun off into its own eponymous channel (Rak; Dempsey). Premiered in May 1996, Australian Story—which aims to utilise a “personal approach” to biographical storytelling—has won a significant viewership, critical acclaim and professional recognition (ABC). It can also be posited that the real home movies viewers submit to such programs as Australia’s Favourite Home Videos, and “chat” or “confessional” television are further reflections of a general mania for biographical detail (see Douglas), no matter how fragmented, sensationalized, or even inane and cruel. A recent example of the latter, the USA-produced The Moment of Truth, has contestants answering personal questions under polygraph examination and then again in front of an audience including close relatives and friends—the more “truthful” their answers (and often, the more humiliated and/or distressed contestants are willing to be), the more money they can win. Away from television, but offering further evidence of this interest are the growing readerships for personally oriented weblogs and networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook (Grossman), individual profiles and interviews in periodical publications, and the recently widely revived newspaper obituary column (Starck). Adult and community education organisations run short courses on researching and writing auto/biographical forms and, across Western countries, the family history/genealogy sections of many local, state, and national libraries have been upgraded to meet the increasing demand for these services. Academically, journals and e-mail discussion lists have been established on the topics of biography and autobiography, and North American, British, and Australian universities offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses in life writing. The commonly aired wisdom is that published life writing in its many text-based forms (biography, autobiography, memoir, diaries, and collections of personal letters) is enjoying unprecedented popularity. It is our purpose to examine this proposition. Methodological problems There are a number of problems involved in investigating genre popularity, growth, and decline in publishing. Firstly, it is not easy to gain access to detailed statistics, which are usually only available within the industry. Secondly, it is difficult to ascertain how publishing statistics are gathered and what they report (Eliot). There is the question of whether bestselling booklists reflect actual book sales or are manipulated marketing tools (Miller), although the move from surveys of booksellers to electronic reporting at point of sale in new publishing lists such as BookScan will hopefully obviate this problem. Thirdly, some publishing lists categorise by subject and form, some by subject only, and some do not categorise at all. This means that in any analysis of these statistics, a decision has to be made whether to use the publishing list’s system or impose a different mode. If the publishing list is taken at face value, the question arises of whether to use categorisation by form or by subject. Fourthly, there is the bedeviling issue of terminology. Traditionally, there reigned a simple dualism in the terminology applied to forms of telling the true story of an actual life: biography and autobiography. Publishing lists that categorise their books, such as BookScan, have retained it. But with postmodern recognition of the presence of the biographer in a biography and of the presence of other subjects in an autobiography, the dichotomy proves false. There is the further problem of how to categorise memoirs, diaries, and letters. In the academic arena, the term “life writing” has emerged to describe the field as a whole. Within the genre of life writing, there are, however, still recognised sub-genres. Academic definitions vary, but generally a biography is understood to be a scholarly study of a subject who is not the writer; an autobiography is the story of a entire life written by its subject; while a memoir is a segment or particular focus of that life told, again, by its own subject. These terms are, however, often used interchangeably even by significant institutions such the USA Library of Congress, which utilises the term “biography” for all. Different commentators also use differing definitions. Hamilton uses the term “biography” to include all forms of life writing. Donaldson discusses how the term has been co-opted to include biographies of place such as Peter Ackroyd’s London: The Biography (2000) and of things such as Lizzie Collingham’s Curry: A Biography (2005). This reflects, of course, a writing/publishing world in which non-fiction stories of places, creatures, and even foodstuffs are called biographies, presumably in the belief that this will make them more saleable. The situation is further complicated by the emergence of hybrid publishing forms such as, for instance, the “memoir-with-recipes” or “food memoir” (Brien, Rutherford and Williamson). Are such books to be classified as autobiography or put in the “cookery/food & drink” category? We mention in passing the further confusion caused by novels with a subtitle of The Biography such as Virginia Woolf’s Orlando. The fifth methodological problem that needs to be mentioned is the increasing globalisation of the publishing industry, which raises questions about the validity of the majority of studies available (including those cited herein) which are nationally based. Whether book sales reflect what is actually read (and by whom), raises of course another set of questions altogether. Methodology In our exploration, we were fundamentally concerned with two questions. Is life writing as popular as claimed? And, if it is, is this a new phenomenon? To answer these questions, we examined a range of available sources. We began with the non-fiction bestseller lists in Publishers Weekly (a respected American trade magazine aimed at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents that claims to be international in scope) from their inception in 1912 to the present time. We hoped that this data could provide a longitudinal perspective. The term bestseller was coined by Publishers Weekly when it began publishing its lists in 1912; although the first list of popular American books actually appeared in The Bookman (New York) in 1895, based itself on lists appearing in London’s The Bookman since 1891 (Bassett and Walter 206). The Publishers Weekly lists are the best source of longitudinal information as the currently widely cited New York Times listings did not appear till 1942, with the Wall Street Journal a late entry into the field in 1994. We then examined a number of sources of more recent statistics. We looked at the bestseller lists from the USA-based Amazon.com online bookseller; recent research on bestsellers in Britain; and lists from Nielsen BookScan Australia, which claims to tally some 85% or more of books sold in Australia, wherever they are published. In addition to the reservations expressed above, caveats must be aired in relation to these sources. While Publishers Weekly claims to be an international publication, it largely reflects the North American publishing scene and especially that of the USA. Although available internationally, Amazon.com also has its own national sites—such as Amazon.co.uk—not considered here. It also caters to a “specific computer-literate, credit-able clientele” (Gutjahr: 219) and has an unashamedly commercial focus, within which all the information generated must be considered. In our analysis of the material studied, we will use “life writing” as a genre term. When it comes to analysis of the lists, we have broken down the genre of life writing into biography and autobiography, incorporating memoir, letters, and diaries under autobiography. This is consistent with the use of the terminology in BookScan. Although we have broken down the genre in this way, it is the overall picture with regard to life writing that is our concern. It is beyond the scope of this paper to offer a detailed analysis of whether, within life writing, further distinctions should be drawn. Publishers Weekly: 1912 to 2006 1912 saw the first list of the 10 bestselling non-fiction titles in Publishers Weekly. It featured two life writing texts, being headed by an autobiography, The Promised Land by Russian Jewish immigrant Mary Antin, and concluding with Albert Bigelow Paine’s six-volume biography, Mark Twain. The Publishers Weekly lists do not categorise non-fiction titles by either form or subject, so the classifications below are our own with memoir classified as autobiography. In a decade-by-decade tally of these listings, there were 3 biographies and 20 autobiographies in the lists between 1912 and 1919; 24 biographies and 21 autobiographies in the 1920s; 13 biographies and 40 autobiographies in the 1930s; 8 biographies and 46 biographies in the 1940s; 4 biographies and 14 autobiographies in the 1950s; 11 biographies and 13 autobiographies in the 1960s; 6 biographies and 11 autobiographies in the 1970s; 3 biographies and 19 autobiographies in the 1980s; 5 biographies and 17 autobiographies in the 1990s; and 2 biographies and 7 autobiographies from 2000 up until the end of 2006. See Appendix 1 for the relevant titles and authors. Breaking down the most recent figures for 1990–2006, we find a not radically different range of figures and trends across years in the contemporary environment. The validity of looking only at the top ten books sold in any year is, of course, questionable, as are all the issues regarding sources discussed above. But one thing is certain in terms of our inquiry. There is no upwards curve obvious here. If anything, the decade break-down suggests that sales are trending downwards. This is in keeping with the findings of Michael Korda, in his history of twentieth-century bestsellers. He suggests a consistent longitudinal picture across all genres: In every decade, from 1900 to the end of the twentieth century, people have been reliably attracted to the same kind of books […] Certain kinds of popular fiction always do well, as do diet books […] self-help books, celebrity memoirs, sensationalist scientific or religious speculation, stories about pets, medical advice (particularly on the subjects of sex, longevity, and child rearing), folksy wisdom and/or humour, and the American Civil War (xvii). Amazon.com since 2000 The USA-based Amazon.com online bookselling site provides listings of its own top 50 bestsellers since 2000, although only the top 14 bestsellers are recorded for 2001. As fiction and non-fiction are not separated out on these lists and no genre categories are specified, we have again made our own decisions about what books fall into the category of life writing. Generally, we erred on the side of inclusion. (See Appendix 2.) However, when it came to books dealing with political events, we excluded books dealing with specific aspects of political practice/policy. This meant excluding books on, for instance, George Bush’s so-called ‘war on terror,’ of which there were a number of bestsellers listed. In summary, these listings reveal that of the top 364 books sold by Amazon from 2000 to 2007, 46 (or some 12.6%) were, according to our judgment, either biographical or autobiographical texts. This is not far from the 10% of the 1912 Publishers Weekly listing, although, as above, the proportion of bestsellers that can be classified as life writing varied dramatically from year to year, with no discernible pattern of peaks and troughs. This proportion tallied to 4% auto/biographies in 2000, 14% in 2001, 10% in 2002, 18% in 2003 and 2004, 4% in 2005, 14% in 2006 and 20% in 2007. This could suggest a rising trend, although it does not offer any consistent trend data to suggest sales figures may either continue to grow, or fall again, in 2008 or afterwards. Looking at the particular texts in these lists (see Appendix 2) also suggests that there is no general trend in the popularity of life writing in relation to other genres. For instance, in these listings in Amazon.com, life writing texts only rarely figure in the top 10 books sold in any year. So rarely indeed, that from 2001 there were only five in this category. In 2001, John Adams by David McCullough was the best selling book of the year; in 2003, Hillary Clinton’s autobiographical Living History was 7th; in 2004, My Life by Bill Clinton reached number 1; in 2006, Nora Ephron’s I Feel Bad About My Neck: and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman was 9th; and in 2007, Ishmael Beah’s discredited A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier came in at 8th. Apart from McCulloch’s biography of Adams, all the above are autobiographical texts, while the focus on leading political figures is notable. Britain: Feather and Woodbridge With regard to the British situation, we did not have actual lists and relied on recent analysis. John Feather and Hazel Woodbridge find considerably higher levels for life writing in Britain than above with, from 1998 to 2005, 28% of British published non-fiction comprising autobiography, while 8% of hardback and 5% of paperback non-fiction was biography (2007). Furthermore, although Feather and Woodbridge agree with commentators that life writing is currently popular, they do not agree that this is a growth state, finding the popularity of life writing “essentially unchanged” since their previous study, which covered 1979 to the early 1990s (Feather and Reid). Australia: Nielsen BookScan 2006 and 2007 In the Australian publishing industry, where producing books remains an ‘expensive, risky endeavour which is increasingly market driven’ (Galligan 36) and ‘an inherently complex activity’ (Carter and Galligan 4), the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics figures reveal that the total numbers of books sold in Australia has remained relatively static over the past decade (130.6 million in the financial year 1995–96 and 128.8 million in 2003–04) (ABS). During this time, however, sales volumes of non-fiction publications have grown markedly, with a trend towards “non-fiction, mass market and predictable” books (Corporall 41) resulting in general non-fiction sales in 2003–2004 outselling general fiction by factors as high as ten depending on the format—hard- or paperback, and trade or mass market paperback (ABS 2005). However, while non-fiction has increased in popularity in Australia, the same does not seem to hold true for life writing. Here, in utilising data for the top 5,000 selling non-fiction books in both 2006 and 2007, we are relying on Nielsen BookScan’s categorisation of texts as either biography or autobiography. In 2006, no works of life writing made the top 10 books sold in Australia. In looking at the top 100 books sold for 2006, in some cases the subjects of these works vary markedly from those extracted from the Amazon.com listings. In Australia in 2006, life writing makes its first appearance at number 14 with convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby’s My Story. This is followed by another My Story at 25, this time by retired Australian army chief, Peter Cosgrove. Jonestown: The Power and Myth of Alan Jones comes in at 34 for the Australian broadcaster’s biographer Chris Masters; the biography, The Innocent Man by John Grisham at 38 and Li Cunxin’s autobiographical Mao’s Last Dancer at 45. Australian Susan Duncan’s memoir of coping with personal loss, Salvation Creek: An Unexpected Life makes 50; bestselling USA travel writer Bill Bryson’s autobiographical memoir of his childhood The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid 69; Mandela: The Authorised Portrait by Rosalind Coward, 79; and Joanne Lees’s memoir of dealing with her kidnapping, the murder of her partner and the justice system in Australia’s Northern Territory, No Turning Back, 89. These books reveal a market preference for autobiographical writing, and an almost even split between Australian and overseas subjects in 2006. 2007 similarly saw no life writing in the top 10. The books in the top 100 sales reveal a downward trend, with fewer titles making this band overall. In 2007, Terri Irwin’s memoir of life with her famous husband, wildlife warrior Steve Irwin, My Steve, came in at number 26; musician Andrew Johns’s memoir of mental illness, The Two of Me, at 37; Ayaan Hirst Ali’s autobiography Infidel at 39; John Grogan’s biography/memoir, Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog, at 42; Sally Collings’s biography of the inspirational young survivor Sophie Delezio, Sophie’s Journey, at 51; and Elizabeth Gilbert’s hybrid food, self-help and travel memoir, Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything at 82. Mao’s Last Dancer, published the year before, remained in the top 100 in 2007 at 87. When moving to a consideration of the top 5,000 books sold in Australia in 2006, BookScan reveals only 62 books categorised as life writing in the top 1,000, and only 222 in the top 5,000 (with 34 titles between 1,000 and 1,999, 45 between 2,000 and 2,999, 48 between 3,000 and 3,999, and 33 between 4,000 and 5,000). 2007 shows a similar total of 235 life writing texts in the top 5,000 bestselling books (75 titles in the first 1,000, 27 between 1,000 and 1,999, 51 between 2,000 and 2,999, 39 between 3,000 and 3,999, and 43 between 4,000 and 5,000). In both years, 2006 and 2007, life writing thus not only constituted only some 4% of the bestselling 5,000 titles in Australia, it also showed only minimal change between these years and, therefore, no significant growth. Conclusions Our investigation using various instruments that claim to reflect levels of book sales reveals that Western readers’ willingness to purchase published life writing has not changed significantly over the past century. We find no evidence of either a short, or longer, term growth or boom in sales in such books. Instead, it appears that what has been widely heralded as a new golden age of life writing may well be more the result of an expanded understanding of what is included in the genre than an increased interest in it by either book readers or publishers. What recent years do appear to have seen, however, is a significantly increased interest by public commentators, critics, and academics in this genre of writing. We have also discovered that the issue of our current obsession with the lives of others tends to be discussed in academic as well as popular fora as if what applies to one sub-genre or production form applies to another: if biography is popular, then autobiography will also be, and vice versa. If reality television programming is attracting viewers, then readers will be flocking to life writing as well. Our investigation reveals that such propositions are questionable, and that there is significant research to be completed in mapping such audiences against each other. This work has also highlighted the difficulty of separating out the categories of written texts in publishing studies, firstly in terms of determining what falls within the category of life writing as distinct from other forms of non-fiction (the hybrid problem) and, secondly, in terms of separating out the categories within life writing. Although we have continued to use the terms biography and autobiography as sub-genres, we are aware that they are less useful as descriptors than they are often assumed to be. In order to obtain a more complete and accurate picture, publishing categories may need to be agreed upon, redefined and utilised across the publishing industry and within academia. This is of particular importance in the light of the suggestions (from total sales volumes) that the audiences for books are limited, and therefore the rise of one sub-genre may be directly responsible for the fall of another. Bair argues, for example, that in the 1980s and 1990s, the popularity of what she categorises as memoir had direct repercussions on the numbers of birth-to-death biographies that were commissioned, contracted, and published as “sales and marketing staffs conclude[d] that readers don’t want a full-scale life any more” (17). Finally, although we have highlighted the difficulty of using publishing statistics when there is no common understanding as to what such data is reporting, we hope this study shows that the utilisation of such material does add a depth to such enquiries, especially in interrogating the anecdotal evidence that is often quoted as data in publishing and other studies. Appendix 1 Publishers Weekly listings 1990–1999 1990 included two autobiographies, Bo Knows Bo by professional athlete Bo Jackson (with Dick Schaap) and Ronald Reagan’s An America Life: An Autobiography. In 1991, there were further examples of life writing with unimaginative titles, Me: Stories of My Life by Katherine Hepburn, Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography by Kitty Kelley, and Under Fire: An American Story by Oliver North with William Novak; as indeed there were again in 1992 with It Doesn’t Take a Hero: The Autobiography of Norman Schwarzkopf, Sam Walton: Made in America, the autobiography of the founder of Wal-Mart, Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton, Every Living Thing, yet another veterinary outpouring from James Herriot, and Truman by David McCullough. In 1993, radio shock-jock Howard Stern was successful with the autobiographical Private Parts, as was Betty Eadie with her detailed recounting of her alleged near-death experience, Embraced by the Light. Eadie’s book remained on the list in 1994 next to Don’t Stand too Close to a Naked Man, comedian Tim Allen’s autobiography. Flag-waving titles continue in 1995 with Colin Powell’s My American Journey, and Miss America, Howard Stern’s follow-up to Private Parts. 1996 saw two autobiographical works, basketball superstar Dennis Rodman’s Bad as I Wanna Be and figure-skater, Ekaterina Gordeeva’s (with EM Swift) My Sergei: A Love Story. In 1997, Diana: Her True Story returns to the top 10, joining Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes and prolific biographer Kitty Kelly’s The Royals, while in 1998, there is only the part-autobiography, part travel-writing A Pirate Looks at Fifty, by musician Jimmy Buffet. There is no biography or autobiography included in either the 1999 or 2000 top 10 lists in Publishers Weekly, nor in that for 2005. In 2001, David McCullough’s biography John Adams and Jack Welch’s business memoir Jack: Straight from the Gut featured. In 2002, Let’s Roll! Lisa Beamer’s tribute to her husband, one of the heroes of 9/11, written with Ken Abraham, joined Rudolph Giuliani’s autobiography, Leadership. 2003 saw Hillary Clinton’s autobiography Living History and Paul Burrell’s memoir of his time as Princess Diana’s butler, A Royal Duty, on the list. In 2004, it was Bill Clinton’s turn with My Life. In 2006, we find John Grisham’s true crime (arguably a biography), The Innocent Man, at the top, Grogan’s Marley and Me at number three, and the autobiographical The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama in fourth place. Appendix 2 Amazon.com listings since 2000 In 2000, there were only two auto/biographies in the top Amazon 50 bestsellers with Lance Armstrong’s It’s Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life about his battle with cancer at 20, and Dave Eggers’s self-consciously fictionalised memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius at 32. In 2001, only the top 14 bestsellers were recorded. At number 1 is John Adams by David McCullough and, at 11, Jack: Straight from the Gut by USA golfer Jack Welch. In 2002, Leadership by Rudolph Giuliani was at 12; Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro at 29; Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper by Patricia Cornwell at 42; Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative by David Brock at 48; and Louis Gerstner’s autobiographical Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance: Inside IBM’s Historic Turnaround at 50. In 2003, Living History by Hillary Clinton was 7th; Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson 14th; Dereliction of Duty: The Eyewitness Account of How President Bill Clinton Endangered America’s Long-Term National Security by Robert Patterson 20th; Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer 32nd; Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life by Queen Noor of Jordan 33rd; Kate Remembered, Scott Berg’s biography of Katharine Hepburn, 37th; Who’s your Caddy?: Looping for the Great, Near Great and Reprobates of Golf by Rick Reilly 39th; The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship about a winning baseball team by David Halberstam 42nd; and Every Second Counts by Lance Armstrong 49th. In 2004, My Life by Bill Clinton was the best selling book of the year; American Soldier by General Tommy Franks was 16th; Kevin Phillips’s American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush 18th; Timothy Russert’s Big Russ and Me: Father and Son. Lessons of Life 20th; Tony Hendra’s Father Joe: The Man who Saved my Soul 23rd; Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton 27th; Cokie Roberts’s Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised our Nation 31st; Kitty Kelley’s The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty 42nd; and Chronicles, Volume 1 by Bob Dylan was 43rd. In 2005, auto/biographical texts were well down the list with only The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion at 45 and The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeanette Walls at 49. In 2006, there was a resurgence of life writing with Nora Ephron’s I Feel Bad About My Neck: and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman at 9; Grisham’s The Innocent Man at 12; Bill Buford’s food memoir Heat: an Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany at 23; more food writing with Julia Child’s My Life in France at 29; Immaculée Ilibagiza’s Left to Tell: Discovering God amidst the Rwandan Holocaust at 30; CNN anchor Anderson Cooper’s Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters and Survival at 43; and Isabella Hatkoff’s Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship (between a baby hippo and a giant tortoise) at 44. In 2007, Ishmael Beah’s discredited A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier came in at 8; Walter Isaacson’s Einstein: His Life and Universe 13; Ayaan Hirst Ali’s autobiography of her life in Muslim society, Infidel, 18; The Reagan Diaries 25; Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI 29; Mother Teresa: Come be my Light 36; Clapton: The Autobiography 40; Tina Brown’s The Diana Chronicles 45; Tony Dungy’s Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices & Priorities of a Winning Life 47; and Daniel Tammet’s Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant at 49. Acknowledgements A sincere thank you to Michael Webster at RMIT for assistance with access to Nielsen BookScan statistics, and to the reviewers of this article for their insightful comments. Any errors are, of course, our own. References Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). “About Us.” Australian Story 2008. 1 June 2008. ‹http://www.abc.net.au/austory/aboutus.htm>. 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