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Considerable controversy has arisen in recent years over the management of customer‐broker conflict in the securities industry. Attention has been focused on the supposed voluntariness and neutrality of the conflict management processes. Arbitration, which is the standard form of conflict management in the securities industry, has received particularly strong criticism. This article explains the basis for customer‐broker conflicts, the controversy surrounding the use of arbitration as a means of conflict management, and the case law regulating securities disputes.

Labor-management participation efforts have grown dramatically under such forms as quality circles, total quality management, participation teams, and employee councils. Employers promote participation efforts as a means to increase employee commitment, product quality, customer satisfaction and company profitability. Nonetheless participation efforts are under assault both legally and ideologically. Segments of the labor movement challenge participation efforts as subterfuges for union busting and violations of existing labor laws. This article constructs an historical framework against which to cast the current debate over participation efforts. It traces the roots of differing ideological perspectives on participation efforts by examining the rise of the industrial democracy movement in the 1920s and the use of representation plans and company unions. The historical roots of differing legal perspectives on participation efforts are also examined. The article discusses the historical reasons why contemporary labor statutes were written with such strong circumscription of employee-employer participation efforts.

From a consumer perspective, the issue of personal, informational privacy is of growing concern as our society becomes more and more digitized. For businesses however, detailed customer information is a valuable and lucrative commodity. The latter is particularly true for online businesses with few tangible assets. In order to allay consumer privacy fears, some online businesses post privacy policies promising not to divulge customer information. Yet, when an online business files for bankruptcy, creditors will demand that the customer database be sold with other assets. This article examines the legal and privacy issues surrounding customer databases that arise when an online business files for bankruptcy

To analyze the legal and ethical standing of the most promising business applications of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

High potential RFID installations are identified in the supply chain, in operations, and in consumer applications. Pertinent legal precedents are noted and discussed as are some ethical issues beyond legislation and regulation.

Although an extremely attractive technology, legitimate concerns exist about RFID, particularly in consumer applications. Legal protections vary widely by country and are generally not fully applicable to some areas of potential information abuse.

This research is not exhaustive to all countries, it concentrates mainly on the USA and EU. Further, legislation and regulation change all the time, so the situation is highly variable. This analysis is only a snapshot at one point in time.

Practitioners looking to install RFID technology should be able to better judge the environment within which they operate and where the risks are greatest for change in the legal and regulatory atmosphere.

This paper draws together the practical discussion concerning RFID's applications with specific legal analysis. It also begins to draw in different national legal systems.

This article seeks to examine the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in commercial applications and to discuss whether regulation is needed to balance commercial economic interests versus consumer privacy and libertarian concerns.

This paper covers discussions and comparative studies of others' work and thinking.

RFID technology provides enormous economic benefits for both business and consumers, while simultaneously potentially constituting one of the most invasive surveillance technologies threatening consumer privacy.

The use of RFID technology has profound consumer privacy, civil liberty and security implications.

RFID technology is at an embryonic stage. Like many new technologies, it poses both potential benefit and harm to society. The article recommends that legislation is needed to tip the balance enough to provide adequate privacy protection without unduly harming economic efficiency.

The Catholic Church has provided an evolving framework, for well over a century, to deal with economic issues. This article examines the past century of Catholic social teaching on the economic order, with particular emphasis on the papal social encyclicals. Focuses on three key aspects of the Church’s social teachings: economic systems, private property and labor. Suggests key areas for further research.

In their book Megatrends 2000, John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdene (1990) stated that one of the ten “megatrends for the 1990's would be the rise of “The Age of Biology.” One of the central forces behind this societal shift which is occurring right now, they say, is research into understanding human genetics and the rise of biotechnology. The scientific knowledge regarding human genetics and the technology to examine an individual's genetic makeup have grown at a rapid pace, especially in the last decade as a result of the Human Genome Project. This venture has been labelled alternatively as “mediocre science” (Roberts, 1990b: p. 804) and as “biology's Holy Grail,” (Nelkin and Tancredi, 1989: p. 14). It is indisputably a monumental scientific undertaking, likened to the drive to put a man on the moon in the sixties (“The Geography of Genes,” 1989). This knowledge and the resultant trends will likely prove to be important factors not only in our future economy, but also in the nature of how we understand ourselves.

Respite care is one of the services most frequently requested by family carers, but places are often not taken up because of carers' concerns about the quality of the respite experience. This paper describes the formation of a new respite unit at St Ita's Hospital in Western Ireland and staff's efforts to create a respite experience that more closely reflects the older person's home environment. The initial focus was on providing more choice in terms of the food served and the times of meals. The challenges of introducing even small changes to the delivery of care are considered, and the need for a more widespread and sustained approach to culture change is promoted.