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Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of service provided by the Stirling Council call centre with a view to determining the essential elements of best practice. Design/methodology/approach - The method involves questionnaires to Scottish local authorities about their use of call centres, interviews with Stirling Council managers and call centre employees and some participant observation to gain a detailed view of both the management and operations of the call centre. Findings - The findings are grouped into the topics of communication, training, quality and systems/technology, with improvements suggested in a few areas. Overall, the approach to service quality in the call centre tends to be more qualitative than quantitative with a good awareness of learning and management related issues. Originality/value - The value/contribution of the paper lies in the definition of essential best practice call centre management components, presented in a framework involving aims, enablers and results. This model is proposed for generalised use in both the public and private sectors; it would henceforth benefit from some testing and further refinements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambiguity resolution is essential for precise range determination. As it is difficult to process, a good ionospheric model is essential to get unambiguous results or to reduce time to solve the ambiguities. In this paper, a developed model to determine the differential ionospheric error to sub-centimetre accuracy is described. As a function of elevation angle and TEC, the model is applicable at any location and only requires a single frequency receiver provided the TEC over the reference station is known. It has been evaluated using real GPS measurements at spaced stations in Glasgow (UK) and Stirling (UK), where the results showed good correlation. It was found that the variance ratio and reference variance of the ambiguity resolution rate and the quality of the differential positioning solution are improved. Significant improvements of more than 50% have also been found by correcting the differential ionospheric delay in the measurements for the estimated positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the experience of belonging and identity, and the social distance and separateness which has long characterised aspects of Stirling's Raploch housing estate. Detailed historical archive work uncovered the limited social planning and architectural ambitions set for this housing estate, when compared to the earlier Riverside development. The consequences of such decision making and subsequent poor management of the estate is then articulated through a series of qualitative interviews which explore attitudes to the construction and sustaining of neighbourhood and community identities. Achieving a physical solution to Raploch's social problems has eluded a series of recent regeneration initiatives and this paper suggests that the core problem is not primarily architectural but rather one of class-related discrimination and stigma which has been core to Raploch's identity since the 16th Century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conference "Aquaculture and Water Resource Management," sponsored by Trouw Aquaculture, was held at the University of Stirling, Scotland in June 1994. Papers presented in the conference were featured in the September 1995 issue of the journal "Aquaculture Research." Speakers at the conference spoke on various subjects including water use, species introductions, legislation, wastewater control and fate of animal health treatments. The potential impacts of aquaculture extend across a panorama of issues related to water resource management, allocation and usage. The authors want to thank John Roberts of Trouw Aquaculture, Niall Bromage and members of staff and students of the Institute of Aquaculture for their assistance during the meeting.

This paper challenges the view, widespread amongst historians and archaeologists, that prior to the Improvement period the carselands west of Stirling were devoid of settlement due to near-continuous peat mosses. The argument is supported by cartographic evidence of pre-Improvement settlement and by documentary evidence of farming and settlement from the 15th century onward. Settlement was concentrated along the river margins and most of the modern carseland settlements are recorded by the 17th century. Eighteenth-century writers thought that the mosses had always been discontinuous and identified the important relationship between settlement and soil-types across the carse. Fortunately, the scientifically and archaeologically important surviving peat mosses have made the area a focus of palaeo-ecological and geomorphological research in recent decades. The scientific evidence supports the historical conclusion that the mosses were likely to be discontinuous in the pre-Improvement period, providing attractive sites for early settlement along their margins and confirms the correlation between documented early modern settlement and soil types, themselves a reflection of the evolution of the carse in the post-glacial period. The modern landscape is not, in this view, simply a product of moss clearance but also includes land never covered by moss and land only partially reclaimed. The reasons why recorded archaeological evidence for settlement is confined to the margins of the carse are briefly considered, as are some of the wider historical implications (such as movement between the north and south of Scotland). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The later 17th century saw a marked improvement in the public road system of the Stirling area. with new bridges, better road surfaces and probably some straightening and widening of the roads. In Stirlingshire this work was co-ordinated by the Justices of the Peace, whilst in Clackmannanshire the Justices joined in a more general committee for administering the sheriffdom. They used a combination of statute labour, taxes, fines and charitable donations to finance the work, which was sufficiently effective to make a recognizable contribution to the local economy. It is likely that similar improvements were taking place in other areas, at least in southern and central Scotland, during the same period. An alphabetical Appendix of the bridges recorded in this paper, giving further details of dating, work undertaken etc will be deposited with the National Monuments Record of Scotland and with Stirling Council Archives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the Council for Exceptional Children's First World Congress on Future Special Education which will be held in Stirling, Scotland on June 25 to July 1, 1978. Participants are required to bring an abstract of a conducted relevant research, a short position paper that challenges or supports an issue, or an idea, proposal or prediction pertaining to special education. Topics to be discussed in the convention were also presented.

The University of Stirling Archives and Glasgow School of Art recently undertook a number of projects in collaboration with artists, designers and galleries to create new work inspired by the study of their collections, bringing their archives to new audiences. These collaborations provided an insight into the art and design world's attitude to archives. The discussions held and decisions made highlighted the tensions often present between archival methods and creative choices and highlighted the visual, aesthetic beauty of archives, something the profession often overlooks, preoccupied with the evidential value of the material we manage. This article looks at the issues raised by these often fretful, but always fruitful collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the 1594 Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle in Scotland and suggests that it was modelled after the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. The article describes Stirling Castle as rebuilt by King James IV and James V of Scotland and the erection of the chapel by King James VI of Scotland for the baptism of his son Henry. Other topics include the 20th-century restoration of the chapel, the Classical style of the chapel, accounts of the Temple of Solomon in the Bible, Sir William Shaw as architect of the chapel, and how the chapel relates to the foundation of modern freemasonry.

This article gives an account of the author's experiences when designing and teaching the course module 'intellectual property law' within an undergraduate law programme at the University of Stirling, Scotland, UK, in the autumn semesters in the academic years 2003-04 to 2005-06. The module formed part of a business law degree, but was not a compulsory subject. Although relevant pedagogical literature is considered, generally a more practical approach is taken from an academic law lecturer's, rather than an educationalist's, viewpoint. After an outline of the content of the intellectual property undergraduate course, which also discusses the reasons for adopting this particular content, the article deals with teaching methods in lectures and seminars, as well as lecturing aids and their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, the author explains his experiences with the assessment methods which he chose for his intellectual property module, including student peer assessment for presentations. The article also comments on the purpose and validity of several types of assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of how and where to accommodate the increasing number of households in Scotland represents a major challenge for policy makers and planners at the beginning of the 21st century. The present research ascertains the projected level and geographical incidence of household growth and housing demand in Scotland, identifies the principal alternative options for urban development and, with reference to a case study of urban growth in the Stirling region, assesses the potential contribution of a new settlement strategy to meet the challenge of urban development in contemporary Scotland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the geomorphological history of the Carse of Stirling in Scotland. Characteristics of the Carse of Stirling; Genesis and age of the alluvial floodplain; Maps and access.

This article focuses on young people and participation, drawing on a study of the Scottish Children's Hearings system, titled Deciding in Children's Interests, which was conducted at the University of Stirling between 1994 and 1997. It notes the surprising paucity of recent research on the hearings system, given that it was one of the earliest examples of young people systematically participating in decisions affecting them in a child welfare context. The authors consider several dimensions of participation in relation to the hearings system and other decision-making arenas. They suggest that participation rights may have become a reality more for young people involved in welfare systems than for other young people in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the rituals, chronology and incidence of branks-related punishments of women in Stirling, Scotland, during the period between 1600 to 1722. Earliest usages of brank/branks as verb and noun; Actions for which women were punished with the branks; Witchcraft; Trials.

Provides information on an international symposium entitled the Broodstock Management and Egg and Larval Quality which was held at the University of Stirling in Stirling Scotland from June 23 to 27, 1992. Objectives of the biennial conferences; Background on the financial support received by the 1992 Symposium; Details of the plenary papers made at the meeting which will form the basis of a textbook.

Information about the recessions in the 1930s and the 1980s in Great Britain discussed during the Nineteenth Annual Lecture of the Scottish Economic Society held at the University of Stirling in Stirling, Scotland on February 4, 1984 is presented. It explores a statistical sketch-map of the movements of the British economy in the two recessions, in which the purpose is to note similarities and differences in scale and timing.

The article offers information on the First World Congress on Future Special Education held June 25-July 1, 1978 sponsored by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) in Stirling, Scotland is presented. Topics include integration of music therapy to special education, development of services for the children with disabilities, and new models for language and communication skills. It mentions that music therapists, educators, and psychologists have attended the conference.

The growth and development of environmental science at the University of Striling is presented. After discussing various definitions of environmental science the organization of the four years honours degree programme is described. Some of the anticipated developments in this programmed are discussed.