Search results

A number of articles have been written about information technology (IT) law aspects of the euro, and there is the implication that there is something special about euro implementation from the IT law point of view. The conclusion in this paper is that, even though the euro is not ‘just another currency’, a euro IT project is just like most other complex IT projects … only more so. A euro IT project for a multi‐national in Europe could be as big as any which that company has yet handled, because it may well involve the introduction of entirely new financial and accounting systems. For that reason, customers should follow proper contractual and project procedures. Suppliers should be careful about what they include in their warranties and specifications and should avoid over‐general or over‐generous warranties. In response, end‐users must allow as much time as possible, make the effort to scope their requirements, to understand what they need and to make sure that their contracts and schedules capture all those needs.

Corporate finance is under attack. Commentators mention that corporate managers have enriched themselves and shareholders, and in the process have failed to consider the interests of all stakeholders (Hennessy, 1989, Alkhafaji, 1989, Newton, 1989, Dunfee, 1989, Steidlmeier, 1989, Jones and Hunt, 1991). They cite the active corporate control market that produced hostile takeovers, leveraged buyouts, and corporate restructuring activity, all presumably causing a reduction in social welfare. This view is now beginning to permeate itself into the financial education debate. For example, Hawley (1991) suggests that financial educators are abdicating their responsibility of helping prepare corporate managers to recognize and deal with business ethics‐social responsibility effectively. Hawley proposes that the shareholder wealth maximization model for corporate management rationalizes the commission of unethical or socially irresponsible actions. Because of this ongoing criticism being levied against the practice of corporate finance, financial educators are now moving to incorporate ethics in the finance curricula. Although this move may be welcomed, we suggest that financial educators proceed with caution.

January 27, 2005, was an extraordinary day for Gillette's James Kilts, the show-stopping turnaround expert known as the “Razor Boss of Boston.” Kilts, along with Proctor & Gamble chairman Alan Lafley, had just orchestrated a $57 billion acquisition of Gillette by P&G. The creation of the world's largest consumer products company would end Kilts's four-year tenure as CEO of Gillette and bring to a close Gillette's 104-year history as an independent corporate titan in the Boston area. The deal also capped a series of courtships between Gillette and other companies that had waxed and waned at various points throughout Kilts's stewardship of Gillette. But almost immediately after the transaction was announced, P&G and Gillette drew criticism from the media and the state of Massachusetts concerning the terms of the sale. Would this merger actually benefit shareholders, or was it principally a wealth creation vehicle for Kilts?

To understand the factors that persuaded shareholders of both P&G and Gillette to merge their companies, the valuation metrics involved in determining the merger consideration, compensation packages for key managers, and the politics (internal, local government, and regulatory) that impact major mergers.

For many engineering librarians, a most welcome event during the year under review was the publication of Professor Ching‐Chih Chen's Scientific and Technical Information Sources (the MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1977). Making use of her extensive knowledge and experience in the field, Ms. Chen has come out with an up‐to‐date and reliable reference source for scientists and engineers. Conventional as well as nonconventional sources of information are listed in this guide which cites nearly 3,700 titles, grouped in 23 categories. A matter of special interest to librarians is that the book generously provides review sources from library and scientific literature for most entries. Any librarian without a sci‐tech background should be able to make use of the volume for obtaining a working knowledge of his or her field. This is all the more important in an area like engineering, which is continually being extended by the addition of new interdisciplinary fields. This development is symbolized by the phenomenal growth in technical vocabulary not ordinarily defined in conventional lexicographic aids. This trend as well as the increasing use of electronic data bases for literature retrieval has stimulated the need for new as well as revised dictionaries and thesauri without which one cannot formulate a workable search strategy. Mercifully for librarians the supply of these basic sources is keeping pace with the demand. Some of the new and revised dictionaries are reviewed in detail elsewhere in this survey, but we mention here a few more to prove the point. These include The Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 9th ed., rev. by Gessner G. Hawley, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1978; Glossary of Terms in Thermal Soil Mechanics by Alfreds R. Jumikis, Piscataway, N.J.: The State University of New Jersey, College of Engineering, 1977; Hydrographic Dictionary, 3d ed., Monte Carlo, International Hydrographic Organisation, 1977; The Pipeline Glossary and Directory, Beaconsfield, Bucks. Eng., Scientific Surveys Ltd., 1978; Modern Dictionary of Electronics, 5th ed., Rudolf F. Graf, Indianapolis, 1977; and Transportation‐Logistics Dictionary by Wallace Little, Washington, D.C., Traffic Service Corp., 1977. It is this writer's belief that the trend towards specialized subject dictionaries and thesauri will continue to grow for some time to come.

The fear of falling in older people can affect health, well‐being, care needs and quality of life. Fall‐monitoring equipment that can automatically raise a call for assistance is increasingly being developed, and may reduce the fear of falling. This study sought to discover the views of users and providers on technology of this type of and to quantify the impact fall detectors have on the fear of falling. The results of the study suggest that fall‐monitoring equipment is not considered routinely as part of a care package, and knowledge of devices is poor. A trial of automatic fall detectors provided indicated that they may reduce fear of falling for certain users and so should be considered in falls management, but more evidence and understanding are required to appreciate both the benefits and shortfalls of providing equipment of this sort.

The purpose of this paper is to advance a research agenda on the topic of problematising profit and profitability. This paper also acts as an introduction to this Accounting, Auditing & Accountability (AAAJ) special section which aims to foster the development of literature focussing on critically evaluating issues surrounding profit and profitability and their sometimes, deleterious effects on society. The authors encourage an interdisciplinary discussion on the concepts of profit and profitability and various ways in which the authors could potentially problematise these concepts.

The authors undertake a purposive interdisciplinary review to provide context on problematising profit and profitability by briefly discussing the evolution of the concept of profit and by reviewing some contemporary debates and discussions about the role and status of profit and profitability.

In order to further develop the literature on problematising profit and profitability, it is important to broaden the analytical framework in order to (1) uncover the assumptions that make profitable activities possible as well as justifications of such activities; (2) analyse the practices of profit not only in the sense of computational practices but also in the sense of strategic and rhetorical calculations; (3) evaluate the practices of profit and profitability where they are situated within social and power relationships and (4) connect practices of profit to specific social imaginaries of profit.

In setting out a future research agenda, this paper fosters theoretical and methodological pluralism and encourages box-breaking research in the research community focussing on problematising profit and profitability in various settings. The perspectives offered in this paper provides not only a basis for further research in this critical area of discourse and regulation on the role and status of profit and profitability but also provides emancipatory potential for practitioners (to be reflective of their practices and their undesired consequences of such practices) whose overarching focus is on these accounting numbers.

Current issues of Publishers' Weekly are reporting serious shortages of paper, binders board, cloth, and other essential book manufacturing materials. Let us assure you these shortages are very real and quite severe.