The book explores the implications that research-density has on the people and places researched, on the researchers, on the data collected and knowledge produced, and on the theories that are developed. It examines the effects that research-density has on the people and places researched, on the researchers, on the data collected and knowledge produced, and on the theories that are developed. By weaving together experiences from a variety of countries and across disciplinary boundaries and research methods, the volume outlines the roots of over-research, where it comes from and what can be done about it. The book will be useful for social science students and researchers working in ethnographic disciplines such as Human Geography, Anthropology, Urban Planning, and Sociology and seeking to navigate the tricky 'absent present' of already existing research on their fields of exploration.

Over the past couple of decades, growth in the number of new service and not-for-profit organizations has out-paced manufacturing in the global economy. Six Sigma and Lean, two of the most successful initiatives for improving quality and productivity rooted in the manufacturing sector, are now needed by organizations in the non-manufacturing sectors of the economy. With the ever-growing demands of customers, ensuring quality and productivity in service organizations as a distinctive core competence is becoming essential to achieving a competitive advantage and maintaining customer loyalty for long-term survival. Current books on Lean Six Sigma for service or transactional organizations either require a significant technical background, or are rather conceptual in nature and lack the detail of the tools, how to use them, and the practical skill-building exercises needed to give readers the ability to actually implement Lean Six Sigma in their organizations. This book fills the void. Written for the typical business professional, Lean Six Sigma Service Excellence effectively translates the concepts of Lean Six Sigma from a manufacturing environment to a service delivery environment. It is a user friendly guide to successfully implementing Lean Six Sigma practices in non-manufacturing organizations. It is also an inexpensive path to Green Belt certification. Mr. Taylor provides an overview of the Lean Six Sigma concepts and step-by-step examples of how to apply each of the relevant tools in practical situations. Next, readers will work through several problems to exercise their new found understanding. This learning approach of application and exercise should be of particular interest to those interested in, but unable to afford the large expense of most Lean Six Sigma training courses. Dedicated to executives and managers of service and transactional organizations, Lean Six Sigma Service Excellence emphasizes how productivity can be used as a distinctive competence for achieving and maintaining competitive advantage in non-manufacturing environments.