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The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the life of the musician Brian Wilson from five different perspectives.

The authors used a mixed method of collaborative autoethnography, psychobiography and digital team ethnography to try and better understand the life and contributions of Brian Wilson.

Each of the five contributors provides different insights into the life and music of Brian Wilson.

While the focus of this paper is on a single individual, a case study, the long and distinguished life of Brian Wilson provides much material for discussion and theorising.

Each individual presenting to mental health services has a complex biography. The five different contributions articulated in this paper could perhaps be taken as similar to the range of professional opinions seen in mental health teams, with each focusing on unique but overlapping aspects of the person’s story.

This account shows the importance of taking a biological-psychological-social-spiritual and cultural perspective on mental illness.

This multi-layered analysis brings a range of perspectives to bear on the life and achievements of Brian Wilson, from developmental, musical, psychological and lived experience standpoints.

The purpose of this paper is to present a continuous improvement methodology developed in an aerospace company that is successfully being used by other companies in various industries.

A case study was undertaken at a medium‐sized aerospace company for over a span of one year. Data was collected through in‐depth interviews, attendance at formal and informal meetings, observation, and company documentation.

The paper provides an overview of a continuous improvement methodology known as Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE™), which aims to achieve world‐class quality in products and processes. The paper describes in detail the tools and techniques needed to implement and maintain the methodology. It was found that the company is very successful in addressing a wide range of aspects in the organization, always with the viewpoint that the customer is number one. This methodology is successful to the point that it is being used by other companies in various industries.

The approach of the ACE™ methodology can be applied to a variety of companies.

This paper presents for the first time the comprehensive Continuous Improvement methodology ACE™. The paper should be of value to practitioners of continuous improvement programs who are interested in a comprehensive approach to achieving excellence.

This case examines the merger of two nonprofit organizations from the point of view of the board of directors and senior staff leaders.

The case is designed to teach students about the complex issues in nonprofit mergers and to stimulate thinking about the role of the board of directors in mergers.

This report on the Fifth Annual Conference of the Association of Strategic Planning (ASP), “Strategy in action: lessons from practice,” was held in Long Beach, California. This report covers the two keynote speakers plus highlights from a selection of the presentations (for more information see the ASP website: www.strategyplus.org). Purpose – The article summarizes the highlights of the Association for Strategic Planning's 2006 Annual Conference held on February 28, 2006 in Long Beach, California, one of the premier strategic‐planning conferences in the US. Design/methodology/approach – This is reportage on the annual ASP conference. Findings – The remarks of the two keynote speakers are summarized: W. Chan Kim's on “blue ocean strategy” that makes the competition irrelevant, and Milind Lele's remarks on situational monopolies that also, for a time, gets rid of competition. Both authors' remarks were based on recently published best selling books. In addition, of 40 other presentations offered in concurrent sessions, the article highlights a select few, enough to give a flavor of the conference theme of “Strategy in action – lessons from practice”. Practical implications – The actual conference (and this report) was targeted both to practitioners and strategic consultants eager to learn about the latest methods and pitfalls in doing strategic planning. Originality/value – Both audiences will benefit from reading this article principally by learning about the experiences, experiments, and successes of other companies' and consultants' efforts in actually doing strategic planning.

The idea for this hugely successful event at the Crucible Theatre on 7 June, came first from the pages of New Library World, believe it or not. Reading one of Jane Little's articles advertising Feminist Book Fortnight, I noticed that there was not going to be a feminist book fair in this country this year, and that the main fair was to be in Oslo. It seemed an ideal opportunity to alter Sheffield's image as the macho snooker playing capital of the North and the idea for the First Sheffield Women's Book Fair was born.

Looks at the role of the pollster in the UK and the USA and suggests that the UK pollster’s influence is modest, particularly when compared to his counterpart in the USA. Tries to explain why a more enduring relationship between pollsters and parties has not emerged. Concludes by suggesting that the political role of communications professionals may be about to change, with the advent of a new generation of politicians, apparently more at ease with the political uses of market research and public relations.

Atari, a maker of video games, went through several owners over the years winding up controlled by Infogrames, a French publisher of video games. Infogrames later sold Atari shares in a secondary public offering, eventually reducing the parent’s share to 51.6 percent by September 2005 creating a complicated two-tier ownership structure. Two levels of management made it difficult to get things done. The financial structure was a problem for Infogrames because the French company had to consolidate 100 percent of Atari’s results even though it only owned 51 percent of the company. Atari was generating substantial losses, had defaulted on its debt, and was faced with the possibility of filing for bankruptcy without more working capital. The independent directors of Atari, when confronted with an unsolicited Infogrames buyout offer, had several options: (1) agree to the $1.68 offer (take the money and run); (2) pursue a white knight (a buyout from another investor of company that would be willing to pay a higher price and invest working capital); (3) file a lawsuit to stop the takeover to buy time or perhaps force Infogrames to increase its offer.

Communications in a turnaround How planning and executing a communications strategy is as important as other functional actions Dealing with an international ownership base with a U.S. turnaround of a legacy brand with no hard assets Fiduciary duty and governance issues arising from a takeover offer.