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The nature, status and role of bid cutting in construction bidding are examined from economic, legal, ethical and management perspectives. Some possible means of countering its negative effects are considered including prohibition by legislation, the use of bid depositories, earlier formalization of subcontracts, withdrawal of subcontract prices and through alternative procurement methods. An empirical survey of bid cutting practice is described involving a sample of main contractors (MCs) and subcontractors (SCs) in Southeast Queensland. The practice of bid cutting was found to be widespread. All the MCs considered the practice to be ethical and all the SCs considered it to be unethical. In some cases, MCs awarded contracts elsewhere, even after telling SCs they had the job. Most of the SCs had tried individually to counteract bid cutting but were unable to continue this while others were complying with MC bid cutting attempts. SC bid withdrawals are very rare and litigation is never applied by either MCs or SCs. Mainly as a result of incomplete project documentation, MCs disliked the idea of making the subcontract binding at the time of main contract bid subject to its success, although it was generally recognized that it would reduce bid cutting by the MC‐a view that was also shared by half the SCs. Most respondents thought the construction management procurement option might reduce bid cutting but none had sufficient direct experience to be sure.

This paper presents an e‐commerce system that is being used for construction material procurement. The paper identifies the limitations relating to information retrieving, recording and sharing in the traditional material procurement process. E‐commerce applications that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the material procurement process in construction are then identified and described. Finally, the design and implementation of an e‐commerce system for construction material procurement for trading construction materials in China is presented and discussed.

This study empirically examines the relationship between the effective bid‐ask spread on foreign currency options traded on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and the likelihood of a transaction occurring. Important contributions of this research include the use of a more precise measure of the effective bid‐ask spread than generally used in the literature and the use of data on actual transactions, plus several requests for quotes that did not culminate in a transaction. Consistent with prior theoretical work in the market micro structure literature, the results document empirical evidence that the likelihood of a transaction is inversely proportional to the effective bid‐ask spread.

This chapter focuses on what we know about the intersections of gender, doping and sport and addresses the history, complexities and nuances of how gender impacts perceptions of and research on doping in sport. After establishing briefly what the physiology, psychology, media studies and sociology literature demonstrates with respect to the intersection of doping and gender, this chapter addresses how and why gender was neglected in the creation of anti-doping policies. The lack of thought toward gender in the creation of the current anti-doping system, combined with the conflation of drug testing and sex testing issues by the International Olympic Committee's medical commission in the 1960s, has led to persistent gender stereotypes associated with anti-doping rule violations. As a result, unintended overlap between sex testing and drug testing continues, with implications for the eligibility of intersex and transgender athletes.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the success and challenges of the government of Botswana in combating corruption, and the lessons that policy makers may draw from this experience.

A range of sources are used including on-line materials from Botswana Government websites, DCEC annual reports, reports and on-line materials of international organisations, press articles, conference papers, two theses, articles in journals and chapters in edited collections.

The paper considers the factors that contribute to the success of the Botswana Government in combating corruption. It finds that the role of the anti-corruption body, the Directorate of Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) has been crucial in this endeavour, including its investigative and enforcement work, and also its prevention and education programmes. The progress in combating corruption can also be attributed to procurement reform, measures to reduce red tape and bureaucratic procedures affecting businesses, competition regulation to reduce collusion and bribery, political and parliamentary accountability, and not least political will of Botswana’s leaders to stamp out corruption. In addition, challenges facing the anti-corruption programme are considered, including capacity constraints in the DCEC and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, and the failure of the courts in some cases to bring to book those in high places who have allegedly committed corruption offences. The paper identifies a number of lessons that can be drawn from Botswana’s experience. In conclusion, the paper points to the need for political will to be sustained in light of evidence that it may have recently weakened.

The paper provides lessons for policy makers in tackling corruption.

The paper is a further contribution to the existing scholarly literature on the anti-corruption programme in Botswana.

There has been a proliferation in commercial electronic document delivery services. Over the past few years this consistent growth, combined with enhancements to existing services, has made it difficult for librarians to keep abreast of the latest developments and service availability. This paper presents an overview of document delivery services and suppliers, and provides discussion on the various types currently available. The paper is further divided into non‐collection‐based services, collection‐based services and specialised collection‐based services. Detailed information about particular services has been collated and presented in tabular form: this includes information regarding cost, delivery time, subject field and full contact details.

Wireless communication, comprising telecommunication industry products and services which move voice, video, data, and graphics at the speed of the electron, is the back bone of the Internet. We have today a wireless world which two Chief ‘Ntrepreneur Officers (CNOs)‐American Sam Ginn (AirTouch) and Britisher Chris Gent (Vodafone)‐created by their Memory Management during the 16 years between Olympics in Los Angeles (1984) and Olympics in Sydney (2000).

PROPERLY administrated, the reading room—displaying newspapers, magazines, and ready‐reference books—may, in spite of all that has been said to the contrary, become an important contributory factor in the educational work of our libraries. Let us examine the position closely. It is admitted, even by intemperate opponents, that the reading room is one of our most frequented departments. How, then, may the librarian make it of real educational value to the frequenters? This is a significant question, and, in the limited space available, we propose to indicate a few directions in which much might be done to enhance the utility of this department, and, within certain limits, to systematize its work on the lines of the policy governing the circulating departments. First of all, there is the important question of planning the room; and, although the size and arrangement must, to a large extent, depend upon the local requirements, a few general observations, applicable under almost all circumstances, may here be made. The room should be so designed as to facilitate supervision—glass partitions being more desirable than solid walls. Wherever practicable, the exit should be within view of the staff. For passages between tables, ample space should be allowed—six to eight feet being a reasonable width where movable chairs are used. The accompanying plan obviates the necessity for further comment, and will, perhaps, convey a clearer idea of what is required.

To improve organizational performance and sustain a competitive advantage many Australian businesses have begun to embrace e‐commerce. For example, businesses from the automotive, banking, insurance and retail industries have been able to leverage the benefits of information and communication technologies. Yet, those from the construction industry have been slow, perhaps even reluctant, to implement information and communication technologies to support ecommerce. Thus, this paper aims to determine the barriers that small‐medium sized contractors are experiencing when confronted with the need to implement e‐commerce to sustain their competitiveness. Unstructured interviews were undertaken with managers from 20 small‐medium sized contractors from the State of Victoria in Australia, which had annual turnovers ranging from $1‐50 million. The financial, organizational, technical and human barriers that were identified from findings are presented and discussed. The paper concludes by proposing strategies that small‐medium sized contractors may adopt if they to leverage the benefits of e‐commerce.

The Cyprus conflict is a classical case of protracted ethnic conflict with very obvious and important international dimensions. It is one of the major unresolved inter national conflicts, which for decades attracts the attention of the international community. The involvement of many countries and international organizations in the Cyprus conflict demonstrates the importance and seriousness of the conflict. During the last decades the conflict has cost a lot both for the Greek Cypriots and for the Turkish Cypriots. It claimed a lot of lives and caused serious economic damages and psychological destruction. The conflict began in the 1950s, erupted violently with blood shed at the end of 1963,and culminated in 1974 with the interventions of Greece and Turkey that led to the island’s current de facto division as the Greek Cypriot South and Turkish Cypriot North. Over the past 40 years many states have came out with various initiatives and have proposed various approaches for final settlement of the conflict. It also has been addressed by dozens of UN Security Council resolutions but all these have proved to be futile so far.