4,621 research outputs found
Colin Humphris
No full text"Colin Humphris 2 Sqdrn. RAAF. 1941 - 1942 Author of - 'Trapped on Timor' (as a result of bombing of Darwin Feb. 19, 1942)".Colin Humphris. 2 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force 1941 - 1942. Author of - 'Trapped on Timor' (as a result of bombing of Darwin February 19, 1942)
The amoebic growth of project costs
No full textIn the public arena, we often hear about projects that have suffered massive cost overruns. Often they are related to large public construction projects such as airports, bridges, or public buildings. Large overruns also exist in private industry. However, often these do not appear in the newspapers, so the public is not as aware of them. Of course, not all projects go badly wrong, but quite a few do, and frequently we find ourselves uncertain of the causes for such overruns. In this paper, industrial projects that overrun and overrun in a surprising manner are considered. In other words, the paper considers those many projects where the extent of the overrun is well beyond what might ever have been anticipated, even though what was going wrong within the projects was, for the most part, understood.The basis for the content of the paper (that is, the structure and lessons), are drawn from a postmortem analysis of many large projects as part of claims analysis, particularly "delay and disruption" claims for projects whose total expenditure appeared, at first look, inexplicable or surprising. The aim of the paper is to contribute to an understanding of how projects go badly wrong, when they do, and in particular to draw some lessons from this exploration that are likely to help all managers. The reasons for cost escalation are not just the responsibility of project managers.<br/
Europe’s hidden economy: how governments can bring undeclared work out of the shadows
No full textThe so called ‘shadow economy’ refers to work and financial transactions that take place outside of the view of public authorities. Colin C Williams writes on the scale of this problem in Europe, noting that while the estimated size of the undeclared economy in the EU is around 18.4 per cent of GDP, it is far larger in some eastern European and southern European countries. He argues that a mix of deterrence measures, incentives, and indirect controls offers the best route for governments to bring undeclared work into the declared economy
Explaining the prevalence of the informal economy in the Baltics: an institutional asymmetry perspective
No full textReporting a 2013 Eurobarometer survey of participation in the informal economy across eight Baltic countries, this paper tentatively explains the informal economy from an institutional perspective as associated with the asymmetry between the codified laws and regulations of the formal institutions (state morality) and the norms, values and beliefs of citizens (civic morality). Identifying that this non-alignment of civic morality with the formal rules is more acute when there is greater poverty and inequality, less effective redistribution and lower levels of state intervention in the labour market and welfare, the implications for theorising and tackling the informal economy are then discussed
Corporate city?: partnership, participation, and partition in urban development in Leeds
No full textedited by Graham Haughton and Colin C. Williams.xiv, 313 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm
Varieties of context and informal entrepreneurship:entrepreneurial activities of migrant youths in rural Ghana
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the multi-faceted contexts, which influence the motives, decisions and actions that underpin the mundane and lively entrepreneurial practice of migrant youth entrepreneurs (MYEs) within a developing economy context. Moreover, the paper explores the under-researched linkages between migration and informal entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach: Inductive, qualitative field data from a migrant destination, the Ashanti Region in Ghana are analysed, comprising 15 interviews with MYEs who hail from 12 communities in the three Northern Regions of Ghana. The authors introduce a narrative-based approach, which has previously been under-employed within empirical studies of informal entrepreneurship. Findings: The findings showcase the complex array of opportunities and challenges, which influence individual decisions to engage in informal entrepreneurship. The findings highlight the importance of not only economic rationales but also non-economic rationales for engaging in informal entrepreneurship. Such rationales emerge from the legitimation of informal practices, the social embeddedness of migrant youth within family and community networks and the precarious nature of informal entrepreneurship. Originality/value: The fine-grained discussion of the findings contributes explicitly to theory by underscoring the diversity of informal entrepreneurship activities. Theoretically, the article demonstrates the need to look beyond narrow economic explanations for why individuals engage in informal entrepreneurship. Taking a more holistic approach to explaining motivations for engaging in informal entrepreneurship, enables more nuanced understandings of the importance of non-economic rationales for individuals, located in specific contextual settings.</p
A Modern Guide to the Informal Economy, by Colin C. Williams
No full textColin C. Williams’ new book, A Modern Guide to the Informal Economy, offers a timely analysis of a segment of the global workforce that has received increasing atten tion in recent years. A range of different measures suggest that, globally, the vast majority (61 per cent) of all employment is informal.1 Once thought to be exclusive to labour markets in middle- and low-income countries, the rise of platform work and the gig economy in the economies of developed countries has spurred new inter est in the subject. Similarly, the uneven effects of the pandemic and its aftermath have drawn unprecedented attention to the resultant economic and social crisis, which has disproportionately affected workers in the informal economy.2 Using the most internationally comparable definition of the informal economy as comprising all workers without legal or social protection through their employment,3 the recent pandemic and continuing economic crisis has left the bulk of the global workforce without a safety net. Such a “moment” naturally raises questions about the structure of employment, the role and reach of social protection programmes and the policy options available in countries where informal employment is the norm
Analysing project cost overruns: Comparing the "measured mile" analysis and system dynamics modelling
No full textThe forensic analysis of failed projects is often intended to identify specific reasons and allocate blame for significant cost overruns. In claim circumstances two approaches are often used: the “measured mile”, and system dynamics simulation modelling. This note compares these approaches and argues that, although it is the most popular approach in litigation, the measured mile method is unreliable in cases where disruptions and delays are a significant part of the explanation for additional costs and late delivery of a project
Experiences, causes, and measures to tackle institutional incongruence and informal economic activity in South-East Europe
No full textTo explain the prevalence and persistence of informal economic activity globally, scholars have recently advanced an institutional incongruence perspective. Institutional incongruence exists where there is a misalignment between what is considered legitimate by a society’s formal institutions (e.g. its laws and regulations) and its informal institutions (e.g. norms, values and beliefs). Reporting findings from a series of qualitative focus groups in Bulgaria, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, this paper explores relationships between such institutional incongruence and informal economic activity. In particular, it sheds light on how informality and institutional incongruence are experienced by individuals in South-East Europe. It furthermore provides insights on the causes of such incongruence, and how it can lead to informal economic activity. Finally, it reports on individuals’ perceptions towards different measures to tackle institutional incongruence and informal economic activity, with implications for policy makers in South-East Europe and more widely
Structuring a delay and disruption Claim: an application of cause-mapping and system dynamics
No full textThe idea of ‘‘Delay and Disruption’’ within projects is well-known and is often the subject of litigation claims. However, the term is ill-defined, and it is difficult to justify such claims within a legal process. This paper demonstrates a well-developed approach, which is a logical, transparent, auditable and sustainable means of presenting such a claim. It describes the format for a claim document that presents first the disruptive triggers, then using a formal qualitative
model builds the case from the interacting effects of these triggers. Transformation of this model into a computer simulation and the ability to explore different scenarios provides the quantitative part of the claim document. Thus three elements are presented in the document: demonstration of causality, of responsibility and of a quantum for the
claim. This process also provides additional benefits, including a high level of participant ‘‘buy-in’’, and the basis of a model that can be used to support the claim
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