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One of the worldwide movements for reform of public administration has been the implementation of equal employment opportunity programmes. Reports on a longitudinal study of executive attitudes towards the equity reforms introduced in an Australian public service. Results show that, over a three‐year period, there was a decrease in the perceived observance of merit and equity principles in Government agencies, and an increase in the proportion of executives experiencing discrimination. Although there was greater commitment among executives towards merit and equity, there was no improvement in their attitude towards an equity programme for women. Implications for the Equity Reform process are discussed.

Comparative administrative study lacks agreed‐upon concepts for cross‐national analysis. This essay suggests “administrative culture” as a useful concept which has been overshadowed by two related concepts, “organizational culture” and “political culture.” The American experience is highlighted in its public personnel dimension and administrative sub‐cultures are introduced to characterize the enormous diversity of values, beliefs, and attitudes in the public sector. An evolutionary perspective is used to show change over time from the earliest “Government by Gentlemen” period to the current emphasis upon merit, modified by affirmative action and demands for accountability, flexibility, and entrepreneurial behavior. Sources of administrative culture are also discussed to reveal the unique origins of the system which, nevertheless, has been exported to numerous other nation‐states.

In a previous article we have called attention to the danger of eating tinned and bottled vegetables which have been coloured by the addition of salts of copper and we have urged upon the public that no such preparations should be purchased without an adequate guarantee that they are free from copper compounds. Copper poisoning, however, is not the only danger to which consumers of preserved foods are liable. Judging from the reports of cases of irritant poisoning which appear with somewhat alarming frequency in the daily press, and from the information which we have been at pains to obtain, there can be no question that the occurrence of a large number of these cases is to be attributed to the ingestion of tinned foods which has been improperly prepared or kept. It is not to be supposed that the numerous cases of illness which have been ascribed to the use of tinned foods were all cases of metallic poisoning brought about by the action of the contents of the tins upon the metal and solder of the latter. The evidence available does not show that a majority of the cases could be put down to this cause alone; but it must be admitted that the evidence is in most instances of an unsatisfactory and inconclusive character. It has become a somewhat too common custom to put forward the view that so‐called “ptomaine” poisoning is the cause of the mischief; and this upon very insufficient evidence. While there is no doubt that the presence in tinned goods of some poisonous products of decomposition or organic change very frequently gives rise to dangerous illness, so little is known of the chemical nature and of the physiological effects of “ptomaines” that to obtain conclusive evidence is in all cases most difficult, and in many, if not in most, quite impossible. A study of the subject leads to the conclusion that both ptomaine poisoning and metallic poisoning—also of an obscure kind—have, either separately or in conjunction, produced the effects from time to time reported. In view of the many outbreaks of illness, and especially, of course, of the deaths which have been attributed to the eating of bad tinned foods it is of the utmost importance that some more stringent control than that which can be said to exist at present should be exercised over the preparation and sale of tinned goods. In Holland some two or three years ago, in consequence partly of the fact that, after eating tinned food, about seventy soldiers were attacked by severe illness at the Dutch manœuvres, the attention of the Government was drawn to the matter by Drs. VAN HAMEL ROOS and HARMENS, who advocated the use of enamel for coating tins. It appears that an enamel of special manufacture is now extensively used in Holland by the manfacturers of the better qualities of tinned food, and that the use of such enamelled tins is insisted upon for naval and military stores. This is a course which might with great advantage be followed in this country. While absolute safety may not be attainable, adequate steps should be taken to prevent the use of damaged, inferior or improper materials, to enforce cleanliness, and to ensure the adoption of some better system of canning.

The purpose of this paper is to chart the process of culture change within Durham National Savings, both before and after the public‐private partnership (PPP) of the organisation, and to examine dissent – in its many forms – as a dimension of employee resistance.

In‐depth semi‐structured interviews were conducted with trade union representatives and shop‐floor employees. Senior management declined all offers to participate in the research.

Despite managerial attempts to generate a homogenous culture, the organisation consisted of an array of subcultures. Yet dissent became more pointed and political after the PPP of the organisation. In combination with trade union resistance, workplace dissent challenges and destabilises managerial efforts at usurping organisational cultures.

The theoretical contribution of the paper is important as it moves beyond traditional forms of resistance to examine opaque and emergent forms of dissent at the subterranean level. The changing nature of such actions and attitudes are examined in the context of managerial attempts to transform the culture of the organisation. Whilst there are overlaps around the notions of misbehaviour, dissent and resistance, a fresh and extended definition of workplace dissent is offered.

It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields but who have a common interest in the means by which information may be collected and disseminated to the greatest advantage. Lists of its members have, therefore, a more than ordinary value since they present, in miniature, a cross‐section of institutions and individuals who share this special interest.

There is a perception in the United States that campaign contributions equate with vote buying. Outright vote buying is illegal, but many citizens believe that loopholes in campaign contribution laws allow some to buy votes while perpetuating a façade of legitimacy. Both federal and state laws attempt to regulate campaign contributions, but many of those have been limited by the Supreme Court’s ruling that campaign spending is considered free speech (Buckley vs. Valeo, 1976). Without the ability to limit campaign spending, the amount of money it takes to run a campaign, particularly a presidential campaign, has increased substantially. This had led to an increase in the use of bundling by presidential campaigns, with the winners often rewarding their bundlers. It has also led to an increase in outside independent organizations, known as Super PACs, with an unlimited ability to raise and spend money. This creates an additional problem as a small percentage of wealthy individuals constitute the vast majority of campaign contributors, leading to the perception that politicians cater to the elite. Whether a politician is affected by these factors or not is hard to prove, but it still leaves a perception by voters that their votes are less influential than large campaign contributors and there is always a risk that a vote has been bought.

This paper uses an unbalanced panel of 129 French firms over the period 1981–1991 to test the effects of two participatory schemes – profit sharing and employee share ownership – on voluntary quits. The effects of sharing schemes on productivity are well documented and most studies show positive and significant effects on productivity but their effects on quits have been less studied. This paper is the first French study looking at the effects of profit sharing and employee share ownership on quits. Our empirical investigation shows that employee share ownership reduces voluntary quits significantly whereas pure profit sharing has no significant effect.