Books by Alasdair White PhD FHEA FINS
Château-ferme d'Hougoumont, North Barn: a historical perspective, 2018
The château-ferme d'Hougoumont is situated 50º40'.14"N, 4º23'.40"E in the communes of Braine-l'Al... more The château-ferme d'Hougoumont is situated 50º40'.14"N, 4º23'.40"E in the communes of Braine-l'Alleud and Plancenoit, in central Brabant-Wallonia, in the country of Belgium, and forms a part of the Battlefield of Waterloo. It is situated in the northwestern corner of a slightly raised area that is roughly square and about 550 metres by 500 metres (approximately 27 hectares), the elevation is 125 metres at the highest point and 113 metres in the valley that surrounds it. Hougoumont is an enclosed (or walled) Brabant farm (une ferme en quadrilatère), built in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, approximately 90 metres x 50 metres in size, comprising an upper south courtyard connected to residential usage and a lower north courtyard most recently associated with agriculture. The North Barn is situated along the lower, northern boundary of the north courtyard. During the battle of Waterloo on Sunday 18 June 1815, the farm complex was garrisoned by allied troops under the overall command of the Duke of Wellington. The actual garrison at the start of the battle was made up of german-speaking Nassau troops, with the light companies of the 2nd (Coldstream) Guards and the 3rd (Scots) Guards deployed outside. During the afternoon, the Guards were pushed back and entered the north gate and were subsequently reinforced by additional troops from the 2nd (Coldstream) Guards arriving from the north. Around mid-afternoon, a French howitzer was able to set fire to the buildings surrounding the north courtyard, resulting in the tower house (logis) and the east and north range of buildings being lost and reduced to their main standing walls. A similar fate may have befallen the great (west) barn which served as a granary. Subsequent to the battle, the new owner, Comte François-Xavier de Robiano, seemingly unable to finance the rebuilding of the destroyed buildings, repaired and reconstituted the great barn and the buildings of the southern courtyard. The remaining buildings around the north courtyard were allowed to fall into complete ruin and, by about 1840, most of the buildings had been demolished
This is the story of the towering ambition of a man willing to impoverish his people in pursuit o... more This is the story of the towering ambition of a man willing to impoverish his people in pursuit of personal glory. From the disastrous invasion of Russian in 1812 to his defeat on the battlefield of Waterloo three years later, Napoleon's fall has a certain inevitability about it. Writing in a clear, non-technical way, and making use of new research and insights from a variety of other academic disciplines, Alasdair White explores the events of 1815 and sets them in perspective, showing how close Napoleon came to an improbable victory despite his many failings.
The author explores the expatriate world of 1814-1815 Brussels with a particular focus on Napoleo... more The author explores the expatriate world of 1814-1815 Brussels with a particular focus on Napoleon's return to power and the Battle of Waterloo on Sunday 18 June 1815 that changed the 19th century world.
Managing for Performance is an accessible, practical guide to performance management techniques a... more Managing for Performance is an accessible, practical guide to performance management techniques and how to apply them. Chapters look at how to manage upwards in order to achieve the objective, planning and resources, you and your management style, communicating information, selling the cause, setting goals, and monitoring performance and feedback. With the help of illuminating examples and helpful questionnaires, this book enables the reader to obtain the best performance possible from him or herself and their team.
In this book, Alasdair White provides a consistent and structured approach for achieving top qual... more In this book, Alasdair White provides a consistent and structured approach for achieving top quality performance. It can be applied at all levels, from new employees to senior management. Starting with recruitment he explains clearly, with the help of case studies, sample letters and practical examples, what to do to ensure that you have the right person with the right skills doing the right job. He then shows how to develop and lead that person so that he or she delivers the best performance possible. He describes how to set up an effective training and coaching programme that will fully benefit your company or organisation and introduces the mentoring system, a powerful tool which helps to maintain performance and develop your staff's potential. Detailed sections on team building, goal setting, annual appraisals, recognition, and reward, and promotion are also included
Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) continuously improves the way a company operates, in terms o... more Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) continuously improves the way a company operates, in terms of its processes, products and services, and in the way it manages its most valuable resource - it's people. Unlike many other 'quality' programmes, CQI sets clear objectives, involves every member of an organisation in the continuous process of change and is cost effective. It determines what jobs need to be done and how; gets the right people to do the right jobs; manages people in the right way; and has customer-focused products and services. Above all, it shows how to obtain the essential commitment fro management and staff in order to begin the CQI cycle
Papers by Alasdair White PhD FHEA FINS
This summary paper presents the key findings and insights from a doctoral dissertation titled Nav... more This summary paper presents the key findings and insights from a doctoral dissertation titled Navigating the Use of Publicly Available Artificial Intelligence Platforms in Tertiary Education (Coetzee, 2025), of which the qualitative and quantitative research was conducted between March and July 2024. The study explores the integration of AI tools such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, and others within higher education, focusing on their ethical, regulatory, and practical implications. Using a mixed-method research approach, comprising in-depth qualitative interviews and a broad quantitative survey, the study investigates how AI impacts productivity, academic integrity, and policy awareness among lecturers and students. The findings reveal that most participants support the integration of AI tools, recognising their value in enhancing productivity and preparing students for the professional world. However, discrepancies exist between awareness and the perceived effectiveness of institutional policies. Generational and regional differences highlight varied perspectives on AI’s role, suggesting the need for tailored policy development and communication strategies. The study emphasises the importance of embedding AI literacy and ethical guidelines into academic programs to ensure responsible and informed AI use. Recommendations for future research include exploring long-term impacts of AI, regional disparities, and discipline-specific uses of AI tools. This summary provides insights for policymakers, educators, and institutions aiming to balance AI integration with ethical and academic standards.
Attribution: © Alasdair White 2008 Short extracts, if properly cited and referenced, may be used ... more Attribution: © Alasdair White 2008 Short extracts, if properly cited and referenced, may be used for the purposes of criticism, review or academic research, under fair usage rules. The document in part or as a whole may be freely copied and distributed provided all such usage is ...
Journal of Hospital Medicine, 2010
There can be little doubt that each of us perceive people from other cultures to be different, th... more There can be little doubt that each of us perceive people from other cultures to be different, that the way they do things is not the same as the way we do things, that the things they say are different to the things we say. At a national level it is highly unlikely that a Frenchman and a German, for example, will think they are the same and neither is likely to think that they are similar to the English. Indeed, these differences are the very foundation of how we think about other people: how much they differ from us and how much they are similar. And many are the occasions when people have drawn binary conclusions – right vs wrong or good vs bad – when what they are really saying is that the other person is like me and thinks the same as me and, by extension, they must be right or good, whereas a different person is not like me and doesn’t think the same as me and must, therefore, be bad or wrong. While there is unlikely to be any major disagreement over the concept of difference suggested above, it is less clear that our acceptance or rejection of ideas may be based on whether those ideas come from the same or a closely similar cultural environment as we do ourselves: in other words, it is possible that ideas and the attitudes that arise from them are culturally specific. Using an evidence-based approach and his own case studies, the author explores the concepts involved and draws the conclusion that we are all simply different, needing different paradigms, and that models, especially economic models, are culturally specific.
In this paper, the author argues that the development of compulsory education across the rapidly ... more In this paper, the author argues that the development of compulsory education across the rapidly industrialising world from the late1800s to the present day has, to all intents and purposes, fulfilled its primary objective which is to educate citizens to be useful and economically productive members of society. He argues that it has provided the necessary knowledge, skills and attributes (KSA) required by industry and commerce despite changing demands and the rapidly increasing population. This has, however, only been possible as a result of the fact that the jobs created over the 100 years to 1980 have been middle to low skilled – the sort that a 16-year old would take on entering the workforce. The author illustrates this with the structural unemployment rate in the United Kingdom which has been constant for most that time, arguing that if the education system were not supplying the required KSAs, then the structural unemployment rate would have increased. The author then goes on to argue that recent trends show that the number of low skilled jobs is rising but that number of middle-skilled jobs is declining and the number of knowledge-based high skilled jobs is increasing. As the KSAs for the latter are provided by the tertiary education sector, and with the structural unemployment rate trending slightly upwards, the author suggests that the tertiary education system is probably not keeping pace, is teaching the wrong things, and is thus unfit for purpose.
There has already been a great deal of research done and many learned papers written about academ... more There has already been a great deal of research done and many learned papers written about academic assessment and evaluation, how it should be done and what can be learned from it. With just about every theorist and author having their own set of definitions, there is little value in repetitiously enumerating them, but rather, having examined a large number, it would be better to establish a new way of looking at the subject, one that steps away from the standard approach and towards providing a useful model and a set of tools.
In this paper, the author has chosen to provide a practical model firmly based on performance management principles that have proven success, long lasting reliability and validity, and are easy to use.
This is probably the most detailed historical appraisal of Hougoumont currently available. The au... more This is probably the most detailed historical appraisal of Hougoumont currently available. The author, Alasdair White, tells the story of the château-farm from when it first appears in the documentary record through the construction of the high-prestige ferme en quadrilatère by Chevalier Jean-Jacques Arrazola de Oñate between 1661 and 1730 to the two battles that took place there in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods and then on to its restoration in time for the 2015 bi-centenary of the Battle of Waterloo. Making use of unpublished documentary records and detailed analysis of contemporary maps, White pieces together what the farm would have looked like and provides answers to the great historical question of how just 1200 allied soldiers held off over 6000 French troops at the Battle of Waterloo. White also sheds light on why eye-witness accounts are notoriously unreliable and give rise to romanticised and inaccurate accounts of historical events. This monograph is a must for all serious historians of the battle, for those seeking to make war gaming models, and for social historians specialising in the period from 1661 to 2015.
Situated just to the north of the château/farm of Hougoumont on the Waterloo battlefield, the Boi... more Situated just to the north of the château/farm of Hougoumont on the Waterloo battlefield, the Bois d’Hougoumont seldom gets a mention in the history books. Many authors have assumed that the wood was cut down well before the battle, but Alasdair White’s recent research into the age of some of the trees in the wood show that they pre-date the Battle of Waterloo, suggesting that the Bois d’Hougoumont may well have existed at the time of the battle thus explaining some of the events that took place.
This paper seeks to take the established behavioural models relating to comfort zones, group and ... more This paper seeks to take the established behavioural models relating to comfort zones, group and individual development, and managing change, and use them to create a methodology for understanding and managing performance. It seeks to provide a reliable approach to getting the best out of people that is firmly based on sound behavioural and psychological principles backed up by observational data and practical field research. It is not, however, a ‘scientific’ paper full of detailed research data, complex theories and high-flown rhetoric, but rather it is a practical guide based on twenty years of consultancy in the field and eight years of teaching university students in a business school.
In understanding and managing performance, the key is the management of the stress. Both motivation and anxiety are, behaviourally, sub-sets of stress and, consequently, they are tools to assist in performance management – there will be times when motivation will be the most useful tool, while at others the introduction of anxiety will be more appropriate. However, too much motivation or anxiety will result in too much stress and this will result in performance being disabled.
The correct management style needs to be applied in each phase if performance is to be maximized. Applying the incorrect style has a negative impact on performance. In situations in which a series of performance-enhancing steps need to be taken, it is imperative to start the new performance cycle at the point at which the old performance cycle develops a slowing performance trend.
During their academic careers, students go through a series of major changes and entering univers... more During their academic careers, students go through a series of major changes and entering university is one of the most significant. From primary school through to the end of secondary school, they have been in a ‘protected environment’ under the control of teachers; at home, they will have had parental guidance and support; and within their local community, they will have developed friends and a social life. Going to university changes all this. From being in a controlled predetermined learning environment and living within a supportive social context, the student is suddenly faced with an academic environment that demands much greater independence and personal responsibility, while at the same time having to cope with a radically changed and possibly much less supportive social context. Ill-prepared and ill-equipped to manage the changes facing them, students struggle and it is not surprising, therefore, that universities find themselves faced with a significant ‘dropout rate’ in the first year that, in the UK, averages 22% and ranges up to and in excess of 40%. And the problem is repeated across Europe, North America and Australia.
The author contends that the dropout rate is a symptom of the failure by universities to adequately manage the students’ transition between secondary and tertiary education, and to subsequently manage their academic performance. The author also contends that the current solutions are neither desirable nor effective and most are bound to fail. What is needed is a better understanding of the development phases that all students have to pass through and knowing how to manage their performance in each phase. Solutions are then needed that help university staff to deliver better performance management. To obtain this understanding it is necessary to make use of the tools and ideas that are found in the field of behavioural psychology and, particularly, those that are applied in the field of business where performance management is considered a core competence and a causation factor for competitive advantage.
This paper seeks to take the established behavioural models relating to comfort zones, group and individual development, and managing change, and use them to create a methodology for understanding and managing the academic performance of students in a university environment. It seeks to provide a reliable approach to getting the best out of students that is firmly based on sound behavioural and psychological principles, backed up by observational data and practical field research. It is not, however, a ‘scientific’ paper full of detailed research data, complex theories and high-flown rhetoric, but rather it is a practical guide based on twenty years of consultancy in the field and years of teaching university students in a business school.
Uploads
Books by Alasdair White PhD FHEA FINS
Papers by Alasdair White PhD FHEA FINS
In this paper, the author has chosen to provide a practical model firmly based on performance management principles that have proven success, long lasting reliability and validity, and are easy to use.
In understanding and managing performance, the key is the management of the stress. Both motivation and anxiety are, behaviourally, sub-sets of stress and, consequently, they are tools to assist in performance management – there will be times when motivation will be the most useful tool, while at others the introduction of anxiety will be more appropriate. However, too much motivation or anxiety will result in too much stress and this will result in performance being disabled.
The correct management style needs to be applied in each phase if performance is to be maximized. Applying the incorrect style has a negative impact on performance. In situations in which a series of performance-enhancing steps need to be taken, it is imperative to start the new performance cycle at the point at which the old performance cycle develops a slowing performance trend.
The author contends that the dropout rate is a symptom of the failure by universities to adequately manage the students’ transition between secondary and tertiary education, and to subsequently manage their academic performance. The author also contends that the current solutions are neither desirable nor effective and most are bound to fail. What is needed is a better understanding of the development phases that all students have to pass through and knowing how to manage their performance in each phase. Solutions are then needed that help university staff to deliver better performance management. To obtain this understanding it is necessary to make use of the tools and ideas that are found in the field of behavioural psychology and, particularly, those that are applied in the field of business where performance management is considered a core competence and a causation factor for competitive advantage.
This paper seeks to take the established behavioural models relating to comfort zones, group and individual development, and managing change, and use them to create a methodology for understanding and managing the academic performance of students in a university environment. It seeks to provide a reliable approach to getting the best out of students that is firmly based on sound behavioural and psychological principles, backed up by observational data and practical field research. It is not, however, a ‘scientific’ paper full of detailed research data, complex theories and high-flown rhetoric, but rather it is a practical guide based on twenty years of consultancy in the field and years of teaching university students in a business school.
In this paper, the author has chosen to provide a practical model firmly based on performance management principles that have proven success, long lasting reliability and validity, and are easy to use.
In understanding and managing performance, the key is the management of the stress. Both motivation and anxiety are, behaviourally, sub-sets of stress and, consequently, they are tools to assist in performance management – there will be times when motivation will be the most useful tool, while at others the introduction of anxiety will be more appropriate. However, too much motivation or anxiety will result in too much stress and this will result in performance being disabled.
The correct management style needs to be applied in each phase if performance is to be maximized. Applying the incorrect style has a negative impact on performance. In situations in which a series of performance-enhancing steps need to be taken, it is imperative to start the new performance cycle at the point at which the old performance cycle develops a slowing performance trend.
The author contends that the dropout rate is a symptom of the failure by universities to adequately manage the students’ transition between secondary and tertiary education, and to subsequently manage their academic performance. The author also contends that the current solutions are neither desirable nor effective and most are bound to fail. What is needed is a better understanding of the development phases that all students have to pass through and knowing how to manage their performance in each phase. Solutions are then needed that help university staff to deliver better performance management. To obtain this understanding it is necessary to make use of the tools and ideas that are found in the field of behavioural psychology and, particularly, those that are applied in the field of business where performance management is considered a core competence and a causation factor for competitive advantage.
This paper seeks to take the established behavioural models relating to comfort zones, group and individual development, and managing change, and use them to create a methodology for understanding and managing the academic performance of students in a university environment. It seeks to provide a reliable approach to getting the best out of students that is firmly based on sound behavioural and psychological principles, backed up by observational data and practical field research. It is not, however, a ‘scientific’ paper full of detailed research data, complex theories and high-flown rhetoric, but rather it is a practical guide based on twenty years of consultancy in the field and years of teaching university students in a business school.