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Two competing hypotheses have been developed in the public economics literature to explain the growth of government spending. The first, termed the fiscal illusion hypothesis, holds that governments have incentives to induce a misperception in the population about the cost of government. By constructing complex systems of taxation that obscure the true cost of government services, governments can lead the taxpayer to demand a larger quantity of services. The other hypothesis, the fiscal stress hypothesis, holds that tax complexity diversifies revenues, leading to less revenue variability and, hence, lower costs. Taxpayers, then, demand more government services. The two hypotheses make very different assumptions about the incentives of governments in regard to an informed electorate. The fiscal illusion hypothesis suggests incentives to obscure information, while the fiscal stress hypothesis suggests incentives to reveal true costs.

Accounting and financial reporting can play a role in revealing fiscal information to taxpayers, directly or indirectly, through information intermediaries. If the fiscal illusion hypothesis describes the behavior of governments, we would expect that such governments would attempt to protect the information advantage that is conveyed by a complex tax structure by minimizing accounting disclosures. On the other hand, the fiscal illusion hypothesis suggests that a government with a complex tax structure has no reason to minimize disclosure, and may have incentives publicize lower service costs.

This study examines the association of tax complexity and financial disclosure. We find that there is more disclosure in cities with more complex tax systems, a result that supports the fiscal stress hypothesis.

The article, New Trends in Management, written by John Wellens (this journal December, 1975) made some interesting points concerning the use of project groups. His hypothesis was that positive participation was encouraged by the use of project groups. This integrated closely with views I have been expressing for some years, so I was prompted to write this article. I believe that there must be interdependence between the bureaucratic and the entrepreneurial. The successful project group depends heavily on the procedures, services and relationships that should exist within the functional structure. The bureaucracy can exist without an entrepreneurial dimension, but not for long. It is almost sure to wither and die in a changing world. The entrepreneurial can exist without being part of a bureaucracy, but at considerable risk of conflict and competition for resources. Each dimension is dependent on the other.

This study aimed to identify the professional development needs of academics in Hong Kong higher education for the use of educational technology.

An online survey was conducted in 2017, which involved 374 academics from Hong Kong higher education institutions. The survey covered their perception and use of educational technology for professional activities and their relevant professional development needs.

The results showed an overall positive perception by the academics of the usefulness of online learning with the aid of technology, which was regarded as an effective complement to face-to-face learning. However, their use of educational technology focused only on general online applications, such as document and video-sharing tools, and e-learning platforms. Among various professional development needs, those related to the use of specific educational software with sharing of practical examples were considered to be most highly desired by the academics. In addition, the academics working in lecturer positions tended to use more online applications and had a higher need for professional development, than those with more teaching experience.

The findings contribute to identifying the current status of the use of educational technology and the professional development needs among academics in Hong Kong, as well as the differences between academics in different job positions and with different amounts of teaching experience. The results help in designing suitable professional development activities which address the specific needs of academics.

The classics will circulate wrote a public librarian several years ago. She found that new, attractive, prominently displayed editions of literary classics would indeed find a substantial audience among public library patrons.

Purpose – People do not just interact, with each other; rather, they engage with each other using the visual and verbal instrumentations of communication at their disposal, constructing meaningful and intelligible conversations with differing degrees of precision of intention and clarity of expression. In doing this, they employ the “fundamental features of language,” described in various semiotic and structuralist theories.

Methodology – Here, we synthesize and integrate the key aspects of these language theories in an attempt to apply them to everyday conversations. The language features in question are routinely put into play by human agents to convey attitudes, emotions, opinions, and information and to achieve an engagement with the other.

Findings – Human relations, expansive in their range and intricate in their forms, demand complex instrumentations with which to conduct them. These instrumentations are essential features of the linguistic socialization of human agents, integral to both memory and habits of speech.

Industry is overwhelmed by a glut of management courses and seminars. David Saunders investigates this expensive form of training.

AN ancient fable tells of strong brothers destined to great things. But one lay quietly, in his youth, applying goose grease to his muscles while the others disported among themselves in contest of strength. When the day of trial came it was the lone one, Atlas, who took the weight of the world upon his shoulders. The Greeks were neither fools nor strangers to work study.

Southwark Borough Council have considered a report of the special sub‐committee of the Kensington Borough Council relative to the use of boric acid as a preservative in cream. Mr. Cyril Dickinson, public analyst for the borough of Southwark, in a report to the Public Health Committee, states that a Departmental Committee reported in 1901 on the use of preservatives and colouring matter in foods, and in this report recommended that the only preservative which it shall be lawful to use in cream be boric acid, or mixtures of boric acid and borax, and in amount not exceeding 0.25 per cent. (17.5 grains to the pound) expressed as boric acid, the amount of such preservative to be notified on the label of the vessel. The late Local Government Board, in 1912, issued the milk and cream regulations, followed by an Amending Order, in 1917, which provides that no preservative shall be added to cream except boric acid “in amount not exceeding 0.4 per cent. (28 grains to the pound),” and requiring the declaratory labels to bear the words “not suitable for infants or invalids.” The circular which accompanied the Order of 1917 referred to the order as an interim measure, and mentioned the appointment of a small expert committee to enquire further into the matter, at the same time pointing out that it might bo found that the limit of boric acid in cream should be less than the maximum fixed by the regulations, and urging that every effort be made to use as little as possible or even dispense with it entirely. Although five years have elapsed since the issue of the order, the committee of experts has not yet been appointed, and Kensington Borough Council were now asking for support from the Minister of Health to institute forthwith the enquiry promised. The cream trade in Southwark was of a limited character, as evidenced by the difficulty in obtaining samples from vendors other than the large stores. In September, 1910, the public analyst adds, he reported to the Council in detail the results of a series of analyses of cream bought in the borough. The average amount of boric acid then found (0.23 per cent.) was considerably below the maximum amount (0.4 per cent.) mentioned in the regulations in 1917. He felt that his Council should support the Kensington Borough Council in their action, and at the same time should urge on the Minister of Health the very great necessity of going into the whole question of preservatives in food. No action had yet been taken to carry into effect the recommendations of the Departmental Committee of 1901, and the present position was extremely unsatisfactory both for the public and the trade. If preservatives are to be allowed in foods their nature and the amounts permissible should be definitely settled for the country as a whole; it should not be left to individual authorities to fight test cases. The problem was a very wide and difficult one, but an earnest attempt should be made to solve it, and so place the administration of this section of public health work on a satisfactory basis.