Search results

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Companies with IT at their heart are inevitably quick out of the blocks when it comes to embracing social media and Iyer et al.'s article paints a convincing picture of a firm who know precisely what they are doing. By contrast, Ainger's piece shows us that for the sector, social media usage is very much work in progress. While some initiatives will doubtless have “legs”, others may fall by the wayside. Koo et al. have produced some highly complex and exhaustive research. An article whose very title is difficult to absorb is not going to make for reading, and the findings are unremarkable but there is some interest in their use of media richness theory in relation to the research.

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the circumstances that gave rise to an adverse audit opinion by a New Zealand (Christchurch) accounting firm, Hicks and Ainger, on the annual financial report of the local firm, T.J. Edmonds Ltd, in 1976. In so doing, this study revealed not only previously undocumented issues surrounding major asset purchases but also the impact of key personalities before and after the adverse opinion decision.

The study is located within the Cultural Theory of History, to theorize the narratives within the wider contextual perspective. The issues surrounding the use of memory from such interviews are also considered. The key material offered in this study is sourced from a 2015 interview with the two key audit partners in this audit engagement.

The accounting standard on depreciation at that time, SSAP 3, had not been applied properly to the accounting treatment of four helicopters for wild deer operations, purchased a week before balance date. Neither the artificial suppression of profits by this purchase decision and accounting choice nor the fall in profits nor the adverse opinion, influenced share prices or shareholder perceptions long term.

The significance of this project is that it informs the appreciation of the importance of contextual understanding of a singular adverse audit opinion.

Prominence is given in this issue to the interesting Diamond Jubilee celebration held last month in connection with the Norwich Public Library. It was a courageous but entirely proper thing to hold this celebration in war time, because although it was calculated to raise opposition from short‐sighted people, at the same time it was good policy to affirm that the Public Library is an essential part of national economy even in the greatest of wars. Excellent arguments on behalf of this last proposition were advanced at that meeting in the happy speech made by Mr. L. Stanley Jast, which we hope to see published in even fuller form sooner or later, and equally in the letter from Sir Frederic Kenyon. This gains greatly in force from the fact that Sir Frederic is not only an officer in the Army, but is, we believe, at this moment serving in France. If any of our readers have had doubts about the present seasonableness of their work, and there may conceivably be such, they may wisely ponder the letter and again take heart of grace. As for the celebration as a whole, it was, as we have said, opportune; it was also skilfully engineered and advertised, and was an undoubted success upon which the Norwich Library Committee and Mr. G. A. Stephen have every reason to congratulate themselves.

In the UK, Masters level discipline-specific courses in sustainability integrate modules on the social, economic, and environmental issues of sustainable development. The postgraduate faculty teaching on these courses and the student cohorts enrolling in such courses bring varying attitudes, experiences, and beliefs to the ecological and anthropological discourses and practices about sustainable development. Existing studies of education for sustainable development (ESD) have identified strengths and weaknesses in the knowledge and attitudes of students and faculty although few studies have focused on postgraduate cohorts and fewer still have attempted to compare and contrast students and lecturers. This mixed method case study analyses findings from data collected (2016–2017) from student surveys (n = 121) and semi-structured interviews with faculty (n = 21) recruited from multiple university departments, centers, and programs (n = 12) to identify prevailing anthropocentric and eco-centric ideas and rationales about sustainable development and ESD. Findings suggest a strong orientation to mainstream sustainable development in both groups but analysis identifies reasons for resisting a focus on extremes of “deep green” or “green wash” approaches. In addition, prevailing belief in academic neutrality, institutional and disciplinary factors, student pragmatism, and other drivers are highlighted. The study concludes by identifying potential paths from prevailing (experiential) education in sustainable development to more transformational approaches.

A new lass of sensors for thermal imaging and detection in the infra‐red band is emerging which exploits the pyroelectric effect in ferroelectric materials. These sensors, which are fabricated in the form of large linear or two‐dimensional arrays of detectors interfaced to a silicon readout circuit, do not require cooling for their operation, in contrast to the photon detection based thermal imagers. They thus have the potential for low cost thermal detection and imaging. This paper examines the design of these arrays and the technologies employed in their fabrication, with particular attention to their specialised packaging requirements, by reference to a range of linear and two‐dimensional pyroelectric array devices that have been fabricated in this laboratory.

The paper seeks to examine the latest stage in a process of change aimed at introducing concepts of sustainable development into the activities of the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University, UK.

The rationale behind defining the skills which future engineers require is discussed and vehicles for change at both undergraduate and postgraduate level are described. Reflections on the paradigms and pedagogy of teaching sustainable development issues to engineers are offered, as well as notes on barriers to progress which have been encountered.

The paper observes that the ability to effectively initiate a change process is a vital skill which must be formally developed in those engineers wishing to seek sustainable solutions from within the organisations for which they will work. Lessons are drawn about managing a change process within a large academic department, so that concepts of sustainable development can be effectively introduced across all areas of the engineering curriculum.

A new pedagogy for dealing with changes from the quantitative to the qualitative is required, as the paper questions where the education balance should lie between providing access to technological knowledge which can be applied to designing hard solutions, and training engineers to rethink their fundamental attitudes towards a broader, multiple perspective approach in which problem formulation and context setting play a vital role in reaching consensual solutions.

The paper reviews previously recognised key themes for engineering education for sustainable development, and proposes three further essential ingredients relating to an engineer's ability to engage in problem definition, manage change in organisations, and understand the nature of technical and business innovations.

The design of polymeric materials for microelectronic applications is based on the recognition that structural features in a polymer chain influence the physical properties of the polymer. Illustrations of structure‐property relationships are drawn from applications in lithography, dielectric interlayers and packaging. Among the properties discussed are resolution, plasma etch resistance, thermal stability, electrical properties, permeability, adhesion, mechanical properties and thermal expansion.