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SIX years ago the present author contributed a paper on “Aviation Spirit: Past, Present and Future,” before the International Air Congress, London, 1923.

THE non‐metallic materials used in aircraft construction consist of a large number of different substances, to enter into any detailed discussions of which would occupy a volume of many pages. They are, however, conveniently classifiable into groups, and the reader will find, in what follows, some notes upon each group.

The purpose of our study is to examine the influence of three external corporate governance mechanisms (continuous disclosure regulatory reform, analyst following and ownership concentration) and one internal corporate governance mechanism (board structure) on the likelihood, frequency, horizon, precision and accuracy of management earnings forecasts in the low private litigation environment of New Zealand.

The authors use a sample of 1,082 management earnings forecasts issued by 125 firms listed on the New Zealand Exchange during the 1998-2007 financial reporting periods. The authors effectively control the self-selection bias problem inherent in management earnings forecasts.

The findings provide strong evidence that corporate governance significantly influences management earnings forecast behaviour. Firms with effective corporate governance tend to forecast earnings and provide these earnings forecasts more frequently and precisely. Earnings forecasts issued by firms with more non-executive directors on the board are less optimistically biased. A possible interpretation of the findings is that effective corporate governance mechanisms are able to substitute for a private enforcement alternative.

The findings have value in informing governance choices in the absence of external disciplinary mechanisms such as private litigation.

We have on many occasions drawn attention to the all too prevalent fallacy of judging the nutritive and dietetic value of foods solely by their chemical composition without regard to the digestibility of the foods, and to the more or less prevalent idiosyncrasies of the public in connection with such foods. In an excellent article in The Times, Sir Wyndham Dunstan observes that “it has to be remembered that, however desirable the constituents of a given material may seem, in order to be of real value that material must be digestible— capable of assimilation within the body. In this matter of digestion people differ greatly and there must be latitude in the choice of food. While consumption in quantity of uncooked green and other vegetables is widely advocated, many are unable easily to digest some vegetables unless cooked, and not always then except in very moderate amount. Many other factors have to be taken into account in planning a common dietary. There are different tastes and preferences. The appeal a particular food makes to the individual and the appetite it stimulates are important points. The psychological factor plays a significant part and must be met by providing as wide a selection of palatable food as possible. These are a few truisms often overlooked.” With regard to the kind of bread we should eat and ought to be made to eat in war‐time, the writer observes that “there is unanimity in regarding a wholemeal bread (not always the same thing as “brown” bread) as that which should be generally eaten and readily procured. This is not at present the rule. Should it be made so? The constituents of wholemeal bread supply not only nourishment for the body but protection against ill‐health. Some of the more valuable constituents are absent from the white bread, so long the staple of this country, because they have been removed in the conversion of the wheat into white flour, which is now often further whitened and further deteriorated by a chemical bleaching agent. White bread is therefore a sophisticated and inferior food to which we have grown so accustomed that its use has become an ingrained habit. The obvious course in the circumstances, especially in war‐time, would be to compel the use of wholemeal bread and prohibit white bread. But, though such a course would be for the good of the nation, a sudden change of the kind, however beneficial, is bound to be inconvenient, if not distasteful, to many who are attached to white bread, and particularly to those who do not, or cannot, understand the need for change. There are people who say they can digest white bread more easily than “brown.” Thus it happens that the Ministry of Food, advised by numerous experts and confronted with numerous objectors, is apparently in favour of the evasive alternative of restoring artificially to white bread one at least of the valuable constituents it has lost in manufacture without impairing its whiteness. At first it was intended to do this by adding to white flour suitable quantities of two chemically prepared substances, one a vitamin and the other a calcium compound. Recently the synthetic vitamin only has been indicated as the proposed addition. This seems a clumsy and unnecessary concession to sentiment, involving considerable expenditure. It has been widely critised and regarded as “faking” bread. An eminent physician, Sir Ernest Graham Little, while condemning the proposal on general grounds, also questions its efficacy. Why first remove a natural constituent of wheat in making flour and then afterwards, at a cost, add to the flour this constituent artificially manufactured: He presents a convincing case for the use of wholemeal bread. With regard to the argument that some people dislike wholemeal bread and find it less easy to digest, it may be doubted whether many of them have eaten true wholemeal. “Brown” breads, including bread made with coarse ground wheat or bran and also several varieties of “brown” bread sold under largely advertised names, are almost everywhere procurable at higher prices than white bread. Fine wholemeal bread as well as flour is less easy to find. Large numbers of people eat very little bread, and it is therefore of small importance to them whether it is wholemeal or white. They consume far less than the three‐quarters of a pound a day included in Sir William Bragg's basal diet and make up for it with other foods which they can afford to buy. A really nutritious bread chiefly concerns the poorer classes, who eat much more bread than those better off. For the poor the substitution of wholemeal bread for white is a matter of far‐reaching importance. It has been stated that in many places wholemeal is dearer than white, but inquiries in the trade suggest that this is not as it should be, apart from “fancy” brown breads. As has been pointed out, the Ministry of Food, confronted with alternatives, apparently favour the introduction of “faked” white bread rather than the adoption of wholemeal. There is, however, a medium course. In this country we have come to recognise the “inevitability of gradualness,” and the medium course would meet present needs and might lead to the voluntary adoption of all that is desired.— It has been found that the admixture with fine ground wholemeal flour of about 10 per cent. of white flour makes a light coloured, very palatable, and digestible bread of good texture. Its nutritive value is very little less than that of full wholemeal bread; in fact a rather larger proportion of white flour would be permissible. The mixed flour is quite satisfactory for rolls, scones and cakes.” If an admixture of the kind suggested would overcome the prejudice against wholemeal bread and render it palatable to those people who dislike the ordinary wholemeal bread, there would seem to be a very strong case for adopting such a suggestion rather than first to remove a natural constituent of wheat and subsequently, at a cost, artificially add to the flour the constituent which has been removed in the manufacture of the flour.

Dealing with the subject of the artificial bleaching of flour, The Lancet observes that the public criterion of quality in respect of foods and beverages shows some interesting anomalies. Appreciation is often based, for example, on appearance, on how things look, and it is in this direction that conclusions often and obviously become illogical. In some instances the article demanded must be spotlessly white, while in others, if naturally white, it must be artificially coloured. The white loaf is a popular fancy, but white milk is suspected, and yet natural flour may be of a rich golden colour, while rich milk may have only a shade of brownish colour which is supposed to connote cream. The result is that in the one case flour is often deprived of its colour by a process of chemical bleaching, and that in the other an artificial colouring is added. Natural colour is objected to on the one hand, and on the other an artificial addition is demanded. It may be urged that both expedients are justifiable inasmuch as they meet a popular fancy, and that this counts in the enjoyment and even digestibility of the foods. If artificial means are employed to adjust the appearance of food to a popular standard, the proceeding can clearly only be allowed when it has been proved beyond all doubt that the products are not dietetically impaired or that they do not masquerade as something which they are not.

Using a theory of translation of ideas, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how the mining industry has implemented and practices lean production as well as the form of this practice.

The study reviewed the scientific literature on lean production in the mining industry, as well as in the reported practice of the concept in a mining company. The results were then analyzed using content analysis.

Lean production has not seen a full implementation in the mining industry. Rather, select practices are focused, though the literature covers several more. The findings suggest that the form and extension of lean production in mining differ from other industries owing to characteristics of the industry itself.

The scientific literature on the subject is limited. Additional material was used to attempt to offset this. However, there are still blind spots relating to practice that is not reported in the type of material investigated.

This paper contributes to understanding the evolution of lean production in a unique industry. It suggests why lean implementation may be unsuccessful in this type of industry while also identifying the focal point of its lean production practice.

The purpose of this paper is to trace the dispersed yet influential presence of the French in the Australian wine industry from the beginning of the industry until the present day. It looks at the physical presence of the French on Australian soil (e.g. winemakers, companies, vines) and the French cultural influence (e.g. publications, stereotypes, promotion). It aims to provide an historical context in which to place questions concerning contemporary Australian attitudes to French wine and to wine in general.

Historical review of French presence and influence on the Australian wine industry using historical and contemporary documents and records.

While the French presence in Australia has always been minimal, it exerts a powerful influence on the Australian wine industry. Throughout the history of the industry, French individuals and culture have maintained the image of “French expertise”, thus French wine is still the point of reference for the Australian wine industry and consumer. The high status enjoyed by French wine can be attributed in part to the historical influence of the French on Australian wine.

Further research into attitudes to French wine in Australia is needed to understand consumer preferences.

The paper represents one of the first attempts to investigate the presence and influence of French wines and winemaking in the Australian wine industry. It presents an historical account of the French in the Australian wine industry and the influence of French culture on Australian wine.

This study examines the relationship between board composition and firm value, and the extent to which this relationship may be affected by a company’s investment opportunity set. There is little research that examines this issue, particularly for the New Zealand market. Of the research that exists, and generally for the research that examines how board composition affects firm performance, the findings have been mixed. Using a randomly chosen sample, which improves the external validity of results from prior studies, we find that board composition of high growth option firms is positively related to firm value, and this relationship is maintained when more refined measures that proxy the characteristics of outside directors (such as tenure of outside directors, the level of outside director equity ownership, the number of other board positions held by outside directors, and the total proportion of non‐executive directors, including grey directors) are recognised.

The purpose of this research project was to determine more precise methods for the enrolment of 16‐year‐old engineering students when they first commence classes in colleges of further education. This research work has now been going on at the Aylesbury college for four years. It was originated because we felt that we would like to have some more exact methods of predicting examination successes rather than the previously used methods which we had in operation at the time.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in the establishment of the Faculty of Military Studies (FMS) at the Royal Military College (RMC) at Duntroon between 1965 and 1968. And, in so doing, detail the academic culture and structure of the FMS at its inception in 1968.

Given the small body of literature on the subject, the chronology of events was developed primarily through archival research and interview transcripts, supplemented by correspondence and formal interviews with former academic staff of the FMS (UNSW HREAP A-12-44).

This paper reveals the motivations for, issues encountered, and means by which UNSW’s administration under Sir Philip Baxter were willing and able to work with the Army to establish the FMS. In so doing, it reveals the FMS as a “compromise institution” in which the role of UNSW and the academic staff was to deliver a professional education subordinate to the imperatives of the RMC’s socialization and military training regime.

Primary materials were restricted to archived documentation comprised of correspondence and meeting minutes as well as a limited group of witnesses – both willing and able – to provide insight into UNSW and RMC in the mid-1960s.

This paper presents an original account of the establishment of the FMS and the role of Sir Philip Baxter and the UNSW administration in pioneering the institutional forbearer of the Australian Defence Force Academy.