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This article emphasizes the more-than-human nature of foreign policy formation and diplomatic practice, as found in an examination of nineteenth-century Parliament Select Committee testimony regarding the intersection of everyday bureaucratic practice and the material context of the British Foreign Office. These records indicate both how the changing world of diplomacy at this time (including new states and communication technologies) materially impacted the Foreign Office, as well as the affective atmosphere experienced by its employees, through an excess of paper. Debates over how the new Foreign Office ought to be built reveal concerns about the circulation of paper, bodies, light and air in a drive for efficiency. These historical materialities speak to our understanding of contemporary changes occurring within the world of diplomacy, including the rise of digital technologies and the new skills needed among diplomats, as well as inform our understanding of the exercise of power within assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Victorian Britain rags were not only associated with the inadequate clothing of the poor, they were also viewed as a valuable commodity, widely collected for recycling into paper. This essay examines rags as simultaneously despised and precious objects, tracing the connections between Victorian accounts of poverty, the industrial recycling of rags into paper, and the redemption narratives created by Charles Dickens about rescued children. A supporter of Ragged Schools and champion of rags recycling, Dickens drew on the idea of the transformation of dirty rags into clean paper in his representations of ragged children. To him, the recycling of rags indicated the civilizing forces of modernity, and reading Dickens's representations of ragged children in this context reveals how cloth recycling became a paradigm for society's duties towards destitute children. This essay explains Dickens's juxtaposition of ragged children with references to rag-dealing in his novels; by this means he suggested that street children, like their ragged clothing, were capable of being purified and transformed into social usefulness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An essay is presented which discusses the relationship between the theft of paper, the use of paper as a food wrapper for cheese and London, England's book industry from 1750 through 1799. An overview of the theft of paper from London printers and booksellers and its sale to cheese shops is provided.

Abstract: The need to increase the recovery rates of recyclables from households, reducing at the same time the collection costs, has favoured the spreading of commingled collection systems. This study presents a thorough analysis of the quality of a secondary source of recovered paper of a Spanish newsprint mill, imported from the United Kingdom, where these systems are widely practiced. The results show that the quality of recovered paper from commingled systems is very far from the quality obtained with selective systems: the unusable material content vary from 1% to 29% (11.9% on average) compared to less than 1%. Larger materials recovery facilities (MRFs), less oversaturated and with advanced sorting techniques, have demonstrated to be able to render better qualities, the unusable material content varying from 0.3% to 16.6% (8.1% on average). However, the quality is still far from contamination levels typically found with selective systems, especially in terms of non-paper components. This fact limits significantly the use of this recovered paper for graphic paper production where the major potential for an extended use of recovered paper in papermaking lies. Furthermore, there is a discussion on the cost efficiency of these systems and how the legislation and private or public initiatives are affecting the spreading of these systems, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to examine the agile supply chain management practices adopted by UK clothing retailers in order to effectively manage the supply of innovative, high-margin, high-fashion content product offerings in a complex global environment. Design/methodology/approach — A case study approach was adopted examining the whole of the global retail fashion supply chain, from typical UK-based retailers through to their main production and logistics suppliers based in two low-cost locations, China and Romania. The cases of the UK retailers were followed by a study tour of China and Romania, where ten cases of fabric and finishing manufacturers, intermediaries and logistic providers were carried out. Findings — Many aspects of accepted risk management and agile practice, such as market sensitivity, postponement activities and collaborative information-sharing partnerships were apparent in the early product definition and the later product delivery stages of the supply chain. However, the responsibility for supply, including the key aspect of managing the complex supply network, was almost exclusively left to intermediaries located in low-cost countries. These intermediaries in the main could best achieve agile supply from a significantly underutilized low-cost country supply network through a traditional adversarial price and lead time auction sourcing process. Research limitations/implications — While the cases considered reflected what seemed to be a typical and widely adopted approach to managing such a supply chain, this may not, of course, be the only approach taken by organisations in the clothing industry. Originality/value — By examining a whole supply chain associated with agile supply in an important sector, the paper identifies the relative importance of some existing practices and brings into sharper focus those most relevant to this type of supply. The paper also identifies key elements of contemporary supply chain management practice, namely the growing use of global supply for innovative products and the essential and valuable role played by intermediaries in such supply chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, senior judges in Britain have signalled a departure from the long-established but for test used for direct discrimination cases. They appear to favour instead that the defendant held a discriminatory motive, or even hostility, for liability. In the United States, courts have settled upon a requirement for discriminatory motive, but afforded it such a broad interpretation that is scarcely distinguish- able from the but for model, and is a convenient, if inaccurate label. This paper aims to demonstrate, using seven kinds of direct discrimination case, that neither a discriminatory motive doctrine, nor the but for test, are suitable models to analyse direct discrimination claims, and that the proper approach is a simple purposive interpretation of the statutory formula provided in both the UK and the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst forest management certification emerged in the early 1990s as a potential market-based solution to the problem of forest loss and degradation, certified timber has not yet taken a significant share of timber and wood product markets. Although the lack of supply of certified timber is acknowledged as a problem, market barriers to the uptake of certified products are poorly understood. This study sought to identify and compare barriers to the uptake of certified wood and wood products in the UK's paper and construction industries. Findings indicate marked variation in barriers between individual companies and between the industries. Key barriers identified include: organizational constraints – strategic commitment, inadequate systems, staff skills and financial provision; supply constraints – material availability, supply chain complexities, entrenched supplier relationships; and demand constraints – lack of knowledge, weak demand, price sensitivity, traditional expectations and availability of substitutes. Ways to overcome these barriers are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starch is one of the most important plant products to man. It is an essential component of food providing a large proportion of the daily calorific intake and is important in non-food uses such as in adhesives. However, while much is known about the chemistry and pathways of synthesis for starch, there are major gaps in this knowledge so that it is not possible to modify the quantity or quality of starch produced by plants in a predictable way. While yield has improved markedly over the last century it is no longer improving faster than the growth in population and, at the same time, farmers' incomes in Europe have been falling, especially in the UK. Thus, production, even in Europe, is not much greater than demand. In the western world an increasing amount of the harvested crop is processed and, therefore, the quality of the raw product becomes an increasingly important issue. There is, therefore, an increasing need to combine the modern mathematical modelling tools with modern biochemical tools and the modern science of genomics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The government's White Paper, Learning to Succeed: a new framework for post-16 learning, is here evaluated. The considerable strengths of the proposals – replacement of the TECs with Learning and Skills Councils, the adoption of social partnership in the membership of the new Councils, the substantial increase in resource and a large number of specific measures – are briefly welcomed. A number of serious reservations are then discussed in detail – for example, the absence of a model of change, the over-riding concern to meet the skill needs of business, the overreliance on human capital theory and the continued dependence on exhortation as a means of increasing employers' investment in training. Findings from The Learning Society Programme are then used to question some of the central assumptions underlying the official model of progress. It is argued that endless technocratic reforms are more likely to foster conformity, compliance and control rather than emancipation, empowerment and the enhancement of learning. Finally, it is concluded that the government is rightly pursuing radical, structural reform but is failing to recognize the potential of lifelong learning as a major lever on such change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the working papers on the main proposals for the government's white paper, Working for Patients in Great Britain. Practice budget for general practitioners; Pressure on drug expenditure; Improvement of quality of care; Role of general managers in the leadership of the Family Practitioners Committee.

Focuses on the provisions of the British government's report regarding government information entitled `White Paper.' Proposal for the accessibility of governmental information to public scrutiny; Support for transparency in international relations; Report's ambiguity on exemptions; Possible amendment of the Data Protection Act.

Focuses on the establishment of Great Britain's White Paper on Science and Technology. Measures of effective exploitation on scientific research; Establishment of Technology Foresight Steering Group; Presentation of the White Paper's policy for science and technology.

Presents comments on the impact of white paper on the National Health Service (NHS) of Great Britain. Assertions on the significance and focus of the paper in specialist services; Comments on the significance of chapters four, five and six of the paper; Account on the effect of the paper on minority groups.

The article presents comments of the author on the transport White Paper. The British Deputy Prime Minister's proposals, as revealed in the July 1998 White Paper, fall far short of the rhetoric one recalls from the 1997 general election campaign, or even of the promises that followed it. The railways are not to be renationalized; the buses are not to be re-regulated and area-wide local authority franchising is not even mentioned. All the same, the politicians' urge to meddle runs throughout the document and the liberty of entrepreneurs to seek out and satisfy demand is still to be overseen by those whom scholar Deepak Lal calls the Platonic guardians. The search for a definitive meaning of the word integration is abandoned in favor of a list of four possible interpretations. There is to be a new Commission for Integrated Transport and there are to be local transport plans will be the key to the delivery of integrated transport locally. So the Commission and the local authorities will have to work out the meaning of the word for themselves. The White Paper is being followed by a collection of daughter papers which might, just possibly, throw more light on the question. A policy based upon an indeterminate concept such as this can hardly be expected to make things better for everyone.

Rag paper is a common denominator for many Romantic‐era medial forms. The term "media ecology" has become increasingly accepted in media theory, and its spatial and ecological affinities connect it to the urgent topic of climate change. Media ecology invites book historians to consider the labor as well as the origins of the materials that underwrite our culture. This consideration of paper recasts the literary archive as an accretion of physical as well as intellectual labor. The physical labor necessary for the making of rag paper included increasingly industrialized agricultural work and textile production, as well as rag collecting and sorting, as many period authors were aware. At the inception of the Bank Restriction Period (1797–1821), the introduction of low‐denomination paper banknotes changed the London media ecology in ways that had a devastating effect on the English poor, including the very orders of agricultural and textiles workers, rag collectors, and papermill rag‐room women who had a hand in paper making. The Bank of England investigated and prosecuted hundreds, resulting in poverty, transportation, imprisonment, and executions. Paper notes and their forgeries invited considerations of other forms of cultural value and circulation, including literary authorship, and the article ends with the Bank of England's current celebration of Jane Austen as a literary icon by including her portrait on the polymer £10 note. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses about the illustrated letter paper published by W. H. Rock in Great Britain. Almost 7,000 examples of illustrated letter papers were issued by Rock, each has a small vignetted topographical view which was printed from an etched steel plate. It is asserted that Keith Smith has 2,800 illustrated letter papers, the largest private collection in Great Britain. Smith has now made his collection available through a compact disk. It carries a short essay about the history of illustrated letter paper, as well as notes on the most important makers of them.

Focuses on the rejection of the general practitioners of the government's National Health Service (NHS) in Great Britain. Rejection of the government's proposal for general practitioners; Views regarding the white paper of the NHS; Compatibility of the concepts of the white paper with the principles of the NHS.

Reviews the exhibition 'Paper Past/Paper Perfect,' which concerns paper and its care, at the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture at Middlesex University in Great Britain.

Background: Response rates to surveys are declining and this threatens the validity and generalisability of their findings. We wanted to determine whether paper quality influences the response rate to postal surveysMethods: A postal questionnaire was sent to all members of the British Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE). Recipients were randomised to receiving the questionnaire printed on standard quality paper or high quality paper.Results: The response rate for the recipients of high quality paper was 43/195 (22%) and 57/194 (29%) for standard quality paper (relative rate of response 0.75, 95% CI 0.33-1.05, p = 0.1Conclusion: The use of high quality paper did not increase response rates to a questionnaire survey of gynaecologists affiliated to an endoscopic society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports the publication of a draft of the freedom of information bill by United Kingdom Home Secretary Jack Straw in May, 1999. Statutory right of people to get access to internal documents from public authorities, including hospitals and the police; Proposals in the White Paper; Comments by Maurice Frankel, director of the campaign for Freedom of Information.

Comments on the government's objectives for health services in Great Britain. Need for the support of the people; Dismissal of the proposed general practice budgets and self-governing hospitals; Details of the objectives of the white paper.

Three hundred and fifty foodstuffs packaged in printed paper/board were purchased from UK retail outlets. Solvent extracts of all foods and associated quality assurance samples were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine the presence and concentrations of 20 printing ink compounds: benzophenone, 4-methylbenzophenone, 2-methylbenzophenone, 3-methylbenzophenone, 4-hydroxybenzophenone, 2-hydroxybenzophenone, 4-phenylbenzophenone, methyl-2-benzoylbenzoate, 1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone, 2-isopropylthioxanthone, 4-isopropylthioxanthone, 2,4-diethyl-9H-thioxanthen-9-one, 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone, 2-methyl-4'-(methylthio)-2-morpholinopropiophenone, 4-(4-methylphenylthio)benzophenone, ethyl-4-dimethylaminobenzoate, 2-ethylhexyl-4-(dimethylamino)benzoate, N-ethyl-p-toluene-sulphonamide, triphenyl phosphate and di-(2-ethylhexyl) fumarate. The presence of one or more of the compounds benzophenone, 4-phenylbenzophenone, methyl-2-benzoylbenzoate, 1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone, 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone, 4-(4-methylphenylthio)benzophenone, ethyl-4-dimethylaminobenzoate, 2-ethylhexyl-4-dimethylaminobenzoate and triphenyl phosphate was confirmed in some food samples. Analysis of the associated packaging material was also carried out to confirm whether or not it was likely that the occurrence of these compounds in the foods was due to migration from the printed paper/board packaging. With the exception of triphenyl phosphate, detected in one foodstuff, all the packaging material contained the substance(s) found in the food.

An empowerment initiative involving enhanced fault-management responsibility for operators of complex technology had not led to expected increases in performance, and investigations suggested that this was due to a lack of appropriate feedback. Thus, a feedback intervention was designed to provide specific, timely feedback on operator-correctable faults. It was hypothesized that the intervention would increase operator self-reliance in operating complex technology and promote system performance. Moreover, given the feedback was continuous from the point of intervention, it was predicted that gains would increase over time. Time series analysis of data on engineer call-outs (self-reliance) and machine utilization (performance) showed clear positive effects of the feedback intervention, with call-outs also showing progressive improvement. Self-report data showed no change over time in motivation, but an increase in knowledge dissemination and a reduction in the likelihood of making expensive mistakes. There were no detrimental effects on operator well being. Implications for theory and practice in the management of complex technology are discussed.