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The globalization and externalization of a pharmaceutical company’s research and development (R&D) places considerable demands on its underpinning compound management (CM) capability. More robust CM workflows are needed to support higher demands and cross-continent supply chains. The tracking and visibility of compound orders progressing through CM processes has become crucial to ensure prompt and reliable delivery to customers and project timelines worldwide. AstraZeneca at Alderley Park UK has successfully introduced and integrated a visual management system into its CM processes to support the company’s global R&D strategy. A simple, low-cost approach has been employed to track solid processing and solubilization orders. This reduced variability and end-to-end cycle times by decreasing waiting time between processing steps. The visual tracking system has been quick to implement, adaptable to change, and able to be owned and run by delivery teams. Introduction of the visual tracking system has resulted in significant improvements in order processing, both in terms of variability and speed. The percentage of orders processed within 24 h rose from 81.5% to 92.5%, and reductions of 50% and 17.5% in the average processing time were seen for solid dispense and solubilization orders, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Books Reviewed Nardin, Terry The Philosophy of Michael Oakeshott , 196 Lockhart, Charles Protecting the Elderly: how culture shapes social policy , 196 d’Entrèves, Maurizio Passerin (ed.) Democracy as Public Deliberation: new perspectives , 197 Vincent, Andrew Nationalism and Particularity , 198 Van Mill, David Liberty, Rationality, and Agency in Hobbes's Leviathan , 199 Baker, Gideon Civil Society and Democratic Theory: alternative voices , 200 Crossley, Nick Making Sense of Social Movements , 200 Carter, April and Stokes, Geoffrey (eds) Democratic Theory Today , 201 Galston, William A. Liberal Pluralism: the implications of value pluralism for political theory and practice , 202 Spencer, Philip and Wollman, Howard Nationalism: a critical introduction , 203 Smith, Anthony D. Nationalism , 203 Besteman, Catherine (ed.) Violence: a reader , 204 Addison, Michael Violent Politics: strategies of internal conflict , 204 Marcus, George E The Sentimental Citizen: emotion in democratic politics , 205 Redhead, Mark Charles Taylor: thinking and living deep diversity , 206 Forst, Rainer Contexts of Justice: political philosophy beyond liberalism and communitarianism , 207 Zunz, Oliver and Kahan, Alan The Tocqueville Reader: a life in letters and politics , 207 Riley, Patrick (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau , 208 Froese, Rousseau Katrin And Nietzsche: toward an aesthetic morality , 208 Velkley, Richard L. Being after Rousseau: philosophy and culture in question , 208 Scott, John Power , 210 Haugaard, Mark Power: a reader , 210 Mackay, Fiona Love and Politics: women politicians and the ethics of care , 211 Jamieson, Beth Kiyoko Real Choices: feminism, freedom, and the limits of the law , 212 Jost, John T. and Major, Brenda (eds) The Psychology of Legitimacy: emerging perspectives on ideology, justice, and intergroup relations , 213 Milne, A. J. M. (edited by Roger Crisp and Alistair Milne) Politics, Wellbeing and the Market , 213 Thompson, Janna Taking... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the growing volume of online discussion of Goguryeo history in both China and South Korea. While first analysing how nationalism and national identity underpin this historical dispute, this article then critiques common arguments that emerge within online Chinese and South Korean commentary on Goguryeo. The findings of this study show that while the Internet has facilitated a broadening of participation in the discussion of Goguryeo, this has not led to a more objective or rigorous treatment of this history, nor a more critical evaluation of its relationship to national identity. This study’s findings also indicate that national identity is neither static nor monolithic, and that online discussion of Goguryeo history is part of a dynamic process contributing to the gradual change and evolution of national identity in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article critically discusses the permanent celebration and ‘omnipresence’ of the memory of the transition to democracy in Spain, or its power as a referent which makes sense of the present, helps to overcome periods of crisis, and legitimizes policies. It argues that its institution and power as well as the issue of memory and commemorations need to be rethought. Drawing on Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theory, they are reconceptualized as ‘re-membering’ and the transition is accounted for as an ‘imaginary’. Its power is also illustrated by the fact that the projects which directly challenge it as the sole legitimate framework for the construction of democracy are criticized for threatening democracy itself. Two such projects are on the one hand the initiatives for the ‘recovery’ of the memories of the Civil War and Franco's dictatorship, and on the other the claim for increased regional autonomy. They are called ‘second transitions’. The article claims that the heated debates over them highlight the complex intertwining of legal, political and ethical dimensions in democratic society's constitution. It then discusses the very possibility of renegotiating the terms of the democratic political association, the issue which the second transitions reopen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Working Group One, a panel of experts established by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, issued its Fourth Assessment Report. The Report included predictions of dramatic increases in average world temperatures over the next 92 years and serious harm resulting from the predicted temperature increases. Using forecasting principles as our guide we asked: Are these forecasts a good basis for developing public policy? Our answer is ‘no’. To provide forecasts of climate change that are useful for policy-making, one would need to forecast (1) global temperature, (2) the effects of any temperature changes, and (3) the effects of feasible alternative policies. Proper forecasts of all three are necessary for rational policy making. The IPCC WG1 Report was regarded as providing the most credible long-term forecasts of global average temperatures by 31 of the 51 scientists and others involved in forecasting climate change who responded to our survey. We found no references in the 1056-page Report to the primary sources of information on forecasting methods despite the fact these are conveniently available in books, articles, and websites. We audited the forecasting processes described in Chapter 8 of the IPCC's WG1 Report to assess the extent to which they complied with forecasting principles. We found enough information to make judgments on 89 out of a total of 140 forecasting principles. The forecasting procedures that were described violated 72 principles. Many of the violations were, by themselves, critical. The forecasts in the Report were not the outcome of scientific procedures. In effect, they were the opinions of scientists transformed by mathematics and obscured by complex writing. Research on forecasting has shown that experts' predictions are not useful in situations involving uncertainly and complexity. We have been unable to identify any scientific forecasts of global warming. Claims that the Earth will get warmer have no more credence than saying that it will get colder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a list of sociology-related books received by "Contemporary Sociology." The books include "Racism, African Americans, and Social Justice," by Rudolph Alexander Jr., "The Cost of Being Poor: A Comparative Study of Life in Poor Urban Neighborhoods in Gary, Indiana," by Sandra L. Barnes, "Stratification: Social Division and Inequality," by Wendy Bottero, "Rural Racism," edited by Neil Chakraborti and Jon Garland and "Sewing Women: Immigrants and the New York City Garment Industry," by Margaret M. China.

Lists authors of books about politics. Donald E. Abelson; Sarah Babb; Peter Cain; John Darby; Peter Fairbrother.

A bibliography on the subject of social science is presented which includes "Men of Good Hope: A Story of American Progressives" by Daniel Aaron, "The Federal Debt" by Charles Cortez Abbott and "The Nature of Gambling" by David D. Allen.

A bibliography is presented of books received by the journal "Contemporary Sociology" for book reviewing in future issues.