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This is the first of three articles which describe, from a human resource perspective, the various stages of an acquisition in the international financial services sector. Views this from the standpoint of human resource professionals employed by Royal Trustco at the time of the deal, under which most of that company’s businesses were bought by Royal Bank of Canada. Deals here with the problems involved in maintaining morale and motivation in the target company during the period when it was “in play”, and with the HR stratagems devised to deal with these problems. Suggests that because of the “people” nature of the businesses in question, failure to deal with these problems effectively would, at best, have had an adverse effect on the success of the combined operations after the deal, and might, at worst, have prevented the acquisition from going ahead.

The last in a series of three articles which deal with the human resources aspects of mergers and acquisitions, with reference to a particular transaction in the international financial services sector ‐‐ the purchase of most of the businesses of Royal Trustco by the Royal Bank of Canada. Deals with events after the merger from a human resources perspective, and describes how two very different international private banking organizations were integrated. The strategy adopted by the Royal Bank of Canada was designed to ensure success for the merged businesses, instead of the failure which research attributes to at least 50 per cent of mergers and acquisitions. Summarizes key learning points which it is believed can be used in other mergers and acquisitions.

The second in a series of three articles dealing with the human resources aspects of mergers and acquisitions, with reference to a particular transaction in the international financial services sector ‐ the purchase of most of the businesses of Royal Trustco by the Royal Bank of Canada. Describes the human resources challenges which emerged in a business which was not wanted by the acquiring organization and was therefore left out of the deal and wound down. Also describes key responses to these challenges: open communication of the business plan (including the manpower plan), innovative performance management and reward systems and unconventional approaches to redundancy planning. Considers that the learning points summarized in the article can be applied in other wind‐down situations where stakeholders’ investment is at risk.

This paper explores practices of foresight within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) program Futures Literacy, as a form of transnational governmentality–founded on the interests of “using the future” by “emancipating” the minds of humanity.

The paper draws on ethnographic material gathered over five years within the industry of futures consultancy, including UNESCO and its network of self-recognized futurists. The material consists of written sources, participant observation in on-site and digital events and workshops, and interviews.

Building on Foucault's (1991) concept of governmentality, which refers to the governing of governing and how subjects politically come into being, this paper critically examines the UNESCO Futures Literacy program by answering questions on ontology, deontology, technology and utopia. It shows how the underlying rationale of the Futures Literacy program departs from an ontological premise of anticipation as a fundamental capacity of biological life, constituting an ethical substance that can be worked on and self-controlled. This rationale speaks to the mandate of UNESCO, to foster peace in our minds, but also to the governing of governing at the individual level.

In the intersection between the growing literature on anticipation and research concerning governmentality the paper adds ethnographically based knowledge to the field of transnational governance. Earlier ethnographic studies of UNESCO have mostly focused upon its role for cultural heritage, or more broadly neoliberal forms of governing.

This paper aims to classify major elements in a typology of gated communities and develop a framework that can be used to promote international comparison of this built form.

The paper draws on a survey of 77 gated housing estates in Hong Kong and interviews with major stakeholders to develop and order a classification of elements of a typology of gated communities. Principle component analysis and regression analysis are used in conjunction with insights from 20 in-depth and about 70 open-ended face-to-face interviews.

This paper explores Hong Kong’s gated communities to evaluate the relationships between the four main elements of a typology of gated communities: supply, demand, features of gated estates and characteristics of built form. It is suggested that there is a hierarchical relationship between the elements, i.e. supply and demand are higher-order elements and features of gated housing and characteristics of the housing stock are lower-order elements. The paper additionally highlights the impact of definitional and conceptual drift in key concepts, such as security, privacy, prestige and lifestyle, on developing robust typologies.

The paper reviews the many and varied typologies of gated communities in the international literature, classifies the elements into four main groups and posits a hierarchical relationship between these elements. This paper proposes a robust methodology for further comparative research into gated communities.

While the terms theatre and drama are often used synonymously, they are marked by distinct differences. Drama is concerned with the literature of the theatre, the written basis for theatrical presentations. Theatre refers to the art of presentation, and includes the creations of the playwright, the designer, the architect, and the actor.

To contextualise the contributions in this section, we present some data on growing up in South Asian societies. It is important to consider the fundamental diversity of conditions in which children and youth live. We suggest some theoretical terms that are helpful in this regard and preview the contributions against this background. The studies on which the contributions are based impressively document the striking inequality in this region.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the paradoxical resistance of parent and private school food vendors to the paternalistic nature of school food policies. It develops the hypothesis that resistance, on the basis of them being “paternalistic”, is associated with implementers experiencing ethical breaches that contribute to frustration and low acceptability. This may be leading to accusations of paternalism and non-cooperation.

It takes a deontological perspective and uses Upshur’s (2002) public health ethics framework to explore the potential that parents involved in school fundraising and private school food vendors are experiencing ethical breaches associated with implementation of school food and beverage sales policies in the Canadian context.

Upshur’s (2002) harm principle highlighted how some implementers feel a loss of freedom in how they choose to function, which is perceived to be resulting in lost profits. Parents involved in fundraising activities may experience feelings of coercion. Opting out of fundraising may result in their children’s schools having fewer resources. Smaller private vendors are coerced through economic incentives while being bound by what products are available in the marketplace and the associated costs of items that comply with nutrition standards. Discussion around the reciprocity principle revealed implementers feel they are not adequately supported to implement. Transparency has been questioned where stakeholders report their perspectives are often not equally considered in decision making.

This is the first paper to explore the often cited resistance to the paternalistic nature of school food and beverage environment policies as an implementation barrier. Using a deontological ethical perspective offers an original way to discuss school food policies. This work offers potential leverage points at which policy-makers and practitioners may intervene to improve acceptability and contribute to more effective, consistent implementation.

It's not enough to simply acquire alternative and small‐press materials. They must also be made easily accessible to library users by means of accurate, intelligible, and thorough cataloging.

This paper offers a new perspective on the potential motivation for the adoption of employee ownership based on market power. Employee ownership may be linked to market power, either through contributing to firm growth that leads to market power or through industry leaders adopting employee ownership as part of rent sharing or a broader consolidation of market position. Both employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) coverage and product market concentration (PMC) have been increasing in the past two decades, providing a good opportunity to see if and how these are related.

The authors predict ESOP adoption and termination using multilevel regressions based on 2002–2012 firm- and industry-level data from the Census Bureau, Compustat and Form 5500 pension datasets.

The authors find that the top four firms in concentrated industries are more likely to adopt Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), while having an ESOP does not predict entering the top four, apart from firm-level predictors. Tests indicate the first result does not reflect simple rent sharing with employees but instead appears to reflect an effort by firms to consolidate market power through the attraction and retention (or “locking in”) of industry talent. Other positive predictors of ESOPs include company size, being in a high-wage industry and having a defined benefit (DB) pension.

To better distinguish among hypotheses, it would be helpful to have firm-level data on managerial attitudes, strategies, networks and monopsony measures. Therefore, future research using such data would be highly useful and encouraged.

The paper includes implications for the potential usefulness of ESOPs in attracting and retaining talent and for the design of nuanced policy to encourage more broadly based sharing of economic rewards.

While prior research focuses on firm-level predictors of employee ownership, this study uses market concentration and other industry-level variables to predict the use of ESOPs. This study makes a unique contribution, broadening the current thinking on firm motives and environmental conditions predictive of firm ESOP adoption.