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This paper aims to describe two scenarios where the problem of information search interacts with the firm’s investment decisions. Investment decisions cannot be made separately from the need to acquire information.

The scenarios are illustrated with easy-to-follow numerical examples. Vignettes put the numerical examples in their real-world context.

In both scenarios, the firm should choose what might myopically appear as the lower net per value (NPV) alternative to efficiently deal with the information search problem.

Long-term investments are an important topic in the study of both accounting and finance, but it is in the study of accounting where information issues related to long term investments come to the fore. The traditional textbook approach on whether to accept long-term investment opportunities is to use the NPV rule. However, as illustrated in this note, in many important situations where information search is crucial to investment choice, the NPV rule will not lead to efficient investment decisions.

The purpose of this note is to expose accounting students and others to recent findings in management control, specifically to the relationship between the informativeness of a performance measure and its usefulness in performance evaluation.

Numerical examples illuminate key ideas and are easy to follow and replicate by students.

Seemingly in contradiction to the controllability principle, performance measures that are informative about actions taken by employees are not necessarily useful for performance evaluation. This occurs when the performance being measured is related to an intermediate task, such as prepping items prior to final assembly. If prepping is an important factor in the quality of not only the intermediate good but also the finished good, and the quality of the finished good can be reasonably measured, it may not be useful to measure the prepping performance. This result holds even if obtaining the intermediate measure is costless and the intermediate measure provides unique information on the effort given to the intermediate task.

Opportunities to measure employees’ intermediate outputs are ubiquitous; therefore, judicious decisions should be made regarding the use of limited monitoring resources. This note contains intuitive, easy-to-follow illustrations (based on recent findings) that will help students and others identify situations where such evaluations are more and less useful.

A key development in early adolescence is the active construction of individual identity; for autistic young people, integrating the idea of “being autistic” forms part of this process. The purpose of this paper is to explore identity development from a contextualist perspective, foregrounding young people’s experiences within mainstream educational settings.

A longitudinal, qualitative methodology was used: semi-structured interviews were conducted annually with 14 autistic young people, their parents and teachers between school years 6 and 9.

Young people felt different from their neurotypical peers and their acceptance of their diagnosis changed over time as they managed their developing personal and public identities. In pursuit of being treated “normally,” many camouflaged their differences at school, which sometimes involved opting out of school-based support. Adults described their own understandings of autism and discussed the responses of others in the school environment to autistic differences.

The influence of sociocultural discourses of autism on young people’s identity development is discussed and implications for both school based and post-diagnostic support for young people and their families explored.

The social inclusion of youth is addressed from the perspective of goal-directed action in order to understand and foster it effectively. Conceptualized from the perspective of contextual action theory (CAT), the specific understanding of action as levels, perspectives and systems provides the basis to unpack the complexity of human action. One pertinent action system is identified as project. It refers to a series of actions over time with the same goal. Using this understanding, the social inclusion of youth is described though the joint actions and projects between youth and non-familial adults. These joint actions and projects include advocating for youth, providing instrumental knowledge and encouraging community involvement and civil engagement. CAT is also used to conceptualize and conduct research on the social inclusion of youth. Specifically, the action project method was used to describe the joint projects of both youth with disability and immigrant youth as these projects involved the youth’s social inclusion.

Wood Green “Shopping City” is hardly the most attractive development Europe has ever seen — the heavy, red‐brick, municipal feel of the place doesn't merit the warm and exciting catch‐phrases which the publicists have dreamed up for it. However, as an integrated urban development it figured prominently in the International Council of Shopping Centres' 5th Annual European Conference, where it was used as a case study for a panel session. As far as general information goes, there are still 14 units on the market, and standard shops are letting for between £20,000‐£30,000 in Phase II. The centre is mainly for comparison shopping, although there is a bid to increase food representation in certain areas, and there are restaurant facilities within the development itself. Wood Green was designed to be a major focus for shopping in North London and to cater for a projected catchment area of some 3–4 million people. The last attendance figures available for the “Shopping City” (which were taken in late April when a number of shops now open were not trading) show Saturday to be the peak day, when a total of 50,000 people used the centre. Phase I was started in 1973, and sits on the east side of Wood Green high road. Phase II, on the west side, began construction in 1976, and the major stores of D H Evans and C&A are trading now. Phases I and II are linked by a bridge across the high street at first floor level. Called the Gallery, units on this bridge will be leased to specialist up‐market shops, and this area is singled out for high pedestrian flow. What distinguishes Wood Green is the major housing development on the upper levels of Shopping City. This is due for completion in 1981 and will provide 201 flats for over 500 people. The dwellings are for one, two or five persons, and overlook a central landscaped court, inside which is a children's creche. In February 1979 a Market Hall was opened which gives 54,000 sq ft to 72 traders, many of whom have installed themselves there now that their old sites have been replaced by Shopping City. Another feature which has been made much of by the developers is Citysquare, “a place where shoppers and advertisers will meet.” A metal frame has been suspended from the ceiling of Citysquare and it is planned to take in “advertising, news and entertainment facilities with dramatic sound and vision.” Below this structure, it is hoped that national and local advertisers will put on show their products and services. It must also be noted that there is provision for 1,500 car parking spaces, and 25,000 sq ft of offices. It is also felt that because the car park is located directly over the shopping centre, it encourages pedestrian flow through the first floor level of the development. The other way in which customer circulation is encouraged is via the Gallery across the high road and because there are main traders at each end, on both floors. The development is a joint enterprise between the Haringey Council and Electricity Supply Nominees Ltd, builders are John Laing Ltd, architects are Sheppard Robson, and Development Consultants, Letting and managing agents are Richard Ellis, London. The following report outlines major areas of interest discussed at the conference. The panel speakers were: Richard Young of Sheppard Robson, London, who were the architects for Wood Green; Nigel Woolner of Chapman Taylor Associates, who have Eldon Square in their portfolio and who are involved in the West One development in Oxford Street; Rex Mercer of Drivers Jonas, which acted on behalf of the London Borough of Haringey for the Wood Green development; and Derek Nunn of Bungey, Nunn & Stock, marketing advisers, who also contributed to Wood Green. Roger Lucas of Richard Ellis chaired the panel.

THE parliamentary White Paper issued on May 2nd by the Minister of Local Government has not yet been debated by the House. It may have repercussions on public library control, although specific proposals on most of the matters involved, including this, have Still to be made. Our readers will know that its purport is to intensify the local side of local government; that is, to take certain powers that are exclusively the business of county councils and to place them in the hands of the non‐county borough, urban district, and other councils. Public libraries are to be considered by a committee to be appointed; they are probably unique in that they are a nationally universal service, or almost that, which has no specified Ministerial department concerned in their direction except in a few matters. A number of questions are therefore left in the air ; for example, the future of the county library system would differ considerably from the present set‐up if every local authority became independent in library matters. Complete independence would mean a locally‐raised and controlled rate, not one raised locally to the amount prescribed for county purposes by the county. Such independence is probably not expected as it would seem that the county is to exercise supervision; and those who are supervised can rarely be free agents, if ever. The Committee, if and when formed, might have many matters to debate, such as the desirability of an adequate local Standard of service which conformed to a reasonable national level, in book provision, the training and payment of librarians—the latter in scandalous need of settlement as advertisements of posts every week demonstrate—and in satisfactory accommodation. With these matters the whole national service should be considered ; the relations of the regional systems and their solvency and their workings with the National Central Library and, when founded, the National Science and Technology Library. Moreover, the interrelations of public libraries with the libraries of Schools, Colleges of all kinds, including Technical Colleges and the accessibility and liaison of all state libraries and others receiving public money with the whole system should be surveyed. Thus it might seem that a unique opportunity for great advance may be offered. On the other hand, unless those who know have access to and are heard by the prospective committee, many things that bitter experience shows to be evil may be done and what is almost as bad, many things may be left undone which ought to be done. We are sure the Library Association will be vigilant.

Seeks to evaluate the global position of Virgin Cola within the soft drinks industry. In order to do this, Virgin Cola’s strategy regarding the UK and the US markets is evaluated. Emphasises the importance placed upon the Virgin brand and determining whether or not this proves to be successful for Virgin Cola in relation to its global competitors. The MIXMAP model is used to critically analyse whether or not Virgin Cola have been consistent in aligning their strategy in the debate on internationalisation versus globalisation.

In the early 1900s, Alfred Whitehead argued that the goals of educational reform would be met if knowledge were made functional rather than simply rearranging or privileging different forms of “inert” conceptual knowledge. And for knowledge to become functional it must be “conditionalized.” Decision-based learning (DBL) is different because it explicitly conditionalizes learning and makes knowledge functional. Moreover, DBL fits within an overall developmental progression of expertise and fills a gap often overlooked by formal education. Considerations for designing and implementing DBL are outlined.