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The purpose of this paper is to understand the dynamics of pleasure related to chemsex from the perspective of French gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM). Recognising that participants in chemsex are social actors, the authors diverge from the prominent “pathology paradigm” used in public health.

In-depth interviews were conducted with gay men and other MSM engaging in chemsex via snowball sampling (n=33). The authors explored the definitions of pleasure and the role of stimulants, sexual activity, smartphones and partners in chemsex pleasures.

Chemsex pleasures encompass multiple dimensions that go far beyond bodily pleasures, such as love or romantic relationships, socializing with significant others and sexual discovery through disinhibition. Narratives of pleasure were also, simultaneously, stories of suffering and distress. This dissonance can pose challenges to the participants in chemsex, their entourages and care providers.

Given that the focus of care for gay men and other MSM is on risk behaviors, the findings of this paper help nurture discussions where pleasure is integrated into a new, value-neutral framework of care that incorporates chemsex pleasures.

This study examined the perspectives of those actually participating in chemsex, allowing gay men and other MSM to relate the entirety of their experiences, in which pleasure is often at the forefront, without restriction.

In recent years, the World Wide Web (WWW) has become incredibly popular in homes and offices alike. Consumers need to search for relevant information to help solve purchasing problems on various Web sites. Although there is no question that great numbers of WWW users will continue using search engines for information retrieval, consumers still hesitate before making a final decision, often because only rough and limited information about the products is made available. Consequently, consumers need the help of data mining in order to help them make informed decisions. Herein we propose a new approach to integrating a search engine with data mining in an effort to help support customer‐oriented information search action. This approach also illustrates how to reduce the consumer’s information search perplexity.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how gendered wine-drinker identities are constructed through stories of wine consumption in Kenya.

The data comes from a corpus of 19 in-depth semi-structured interviews collected in Nairobi, Kenya. Taking a narrative approach, this paper uses positioning theory as a fine-grained linguistic methodological tool to analyze stories of gendered wine consumption.

A key finding of the study is that wine consumption can enact, and be enacted by, wider normative societal gendered discourses of what men and women should and, should not, be drinking. In short, in some societies (Kenya being an example here) men drinking wine is subject to the normative gaze of their peers; and if men drink wine, they are not considered “real men.” This is so even when chatting up women, in which case male wine-drinkers are ascribed to the subordinate male identities of either the “new man” or the romantic man. However, male wine-drinkers can retain a real man identity if they are wealthy (and powerful) enough not to care what other men think.

The study provides new insights for targeting consumers in emerging export markets. Wine companies need to be aware that the purchase drivers in established markets may not be central to consumers in developing markets. In developing markets, wine consumption may be influenced by the normative gaze of peers which enacts, and is enacted by, societal gendered discourses. Crucially, a thorough understanding of consumer behavior leads to a more critical consideration for focused marketing strategies aimed at establishing relationships with customers in developing markets.

The study offers an original contribution to the barely existent body of knowledge on wine consumption in sub-Saharan Africa and gendered wine-drinking identity construction. Additionally, from a methodological perspective, no previous study on wine consumption has used a narrative identity approach to the fine-grained linguistic analysis of transcripts of stories elicited during research interviews.

The purpose of this study is to explore at what stage of a company’s life cycle the theory of market timing has explained debt. Drawing on a unified conceptual framework of market timing theory, the authors scrutinize the impact of life cycle and ownership structure on the market condition.

Based on a sample of 24 Tunisian companies listed on the stock exchange and 100 French firms listed on the CAC All-Tradable on a 10-year period, this paper grounded the market timing theory and attempted to clear the relation between ownership structure, life cycle of the firm and market timing theory by statistical analysis.

The findings of panel data modeling indicate that when the life cycle was used as an explanatory variable, it was found that the variable reflecting the market timing is not significant in either context; it means that no significant support is found in the theory of market timing in both countries. Whereas when the life cycle was used as a dummy variable, it was found that the life cycle has an impact on debt only in the Tunisian context.

This study has several important implications for researchers and practitioners. The findings reported here clarify the strength of the impact of life cycle on the market timing, when it explains the debt in the two contexts and the impact of ownership structure such as the managerial ownership and concentration of capital on debt.

This study contributes to examine the theory of debt in different phases of life cycle. Focused on the case of Tunisian and French firms, this study is unique and valuable.

This article presents a compelling case study of a workers’ cooperative in the cultural sector. It offers a unique opportunity to delve into the tensions between managerial and democratic control, particularly in the context of heightened artistic claims. The pivotal role of an accountant in management for nearly two decades sparks a thought-provoking question about the potential for cooperative degeneration.

Our research employs a rigorous qualitative method, utilizing semi-structured interviews of six key members and a comprehensive analysis of legal, accounting and other media documents.

Our findings offer a significant perspective, refuting any indications of organizational degeneration. The decision-making processes continue to uphold democratic principles. While the manager and his administrative staff wield substantial authority, this is justified by their duty to preserve the collective. This duty is executed under democratic control, facilitated by information transparency. The low level of democratic participation poses a challenge, but the manager’s initiatives are aimed at addressing this. The effectiveness of this control, however, relies on the active participation of the members, which acts as a strong deterrent against organizational degeneration.

The originality of our contribution lies in our reference to Chester Barnard whose reflections on industrial democracy have been forgotten, reflections linked to his conception of managerial authority. We also highlight the importance of empowering individual members, which leads them to consider the consequences of their actions. As a result, the manager is not placed in a situation where he has to decide alone, as the scope of his unilateral powers is de facto delimited.

Sets out to question whether massive restructuring of the Telecoms sector in Europe will happen and what, if any, effect this would have, based on the takeover battle for Telecom Italia, involving both domestic and foreign bidders. Concludes by analysing winners and losers in the takeover’s aftermath with mainland Europe’s possible consequences.

Focuses on the successful leadership techniques of three unexpected leaders: Steve Jobs, Robert Polet and Tim Gunn.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments.

In 1976, at the age of 21, a then unknown young innovator co‐started a company in his parent's garage. Four years later he was worth $200 million, but when he was thirty his own company threw him out. Twelve years later they begged for him back, and Steve Jobs returned to Apple. In the fashion sector, France's Pinault family paid $8 billion for Gucci, sacked the company's CEO and most famous designer and hired the so called “ice‐cream” man Robert Polet to come and direct the show. Equally unpredictable, young CEO of Liz Claibourne Inc. William McComb decided to hire Tim Gunn, a man with a background in education and, more recently, TV, to change the fortunes of his company. In all three cases, hiring and firing decisions have been the subject of outrage, derision and very nervous stock brokers. But in all three cases the decisions have proved good. What is it about these three leaders that have them succeeding against the odds?

Offers advice to aspiring leaders in the business world.

Presents three successful but different leadership personalities, pointing out what three diverse men actually have in common.

This paper discusses recent trends in public‐administration‐led foresight exercises from the perspective of how the choice of objectives and scope is reflected in the methods used. In countries where successive projects have been carried out, one can observe how the evolution in methods employed, aims to increase the impact and effectiveness of foresight. Organizing the discussion in terms of objectives departs from previous approaches in the literature which mostly distinguish between different foresight exercises according to the principal methodology used.

Are we now entering the era of a new type of economy, with new rules? What we perceive is more than just an addition to today’s economics. By removing the effects of distance, and giving more equal access across nations and classes, networks will effectively reengineer our basic economic equations. Electronic networks can provide access to skills, work and commerce at much lower cost, via electronic markets in jobs, products, services and education. At the same time, they introduce new economic behaviour, as a large enough quantitative change becomes a qualitative change. Electronics and optics enable the networking of human capital, expanding its application and accelerating its enrichment via education. So knowledge‐based operations may slowly replace traditional capital‐based assets. Consequently, the conventional process for the creation of wealth with its prerequisites for capital investment is revised:economic value in traditional fixed assets is replaced by “electronic assets”. At the same time, the network effect pushes the market mechanism to its limits, through a step‐change in breadth of access, reduced costs of entry and pace of trading. National differences and national markets, all the trappings and devices of commercial locality, are challenged. In this first of two articles, the initial conditions and the evidence for change are examined and the emergence of a new form of economy, or “tele‐economy”, is reviewed. Following from this, a view of the form of capitalism driving the economic environment – “electronic capitalism” – is put forward. The second article, to be published in a forthcoming issue of foresight, examines the consequences and conclusions on assets, wealth accumulation, national players and the benefits and dangers of a tele‐economy.