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AT the end of October, 1935, I retired from active service, after more than fifty years spent in library administration. And now my friend, the editor of this journal, asks me to write some reminiscences in a short article. The limitations of space do not provide for more than a series of brief notes, but it is possible that fuller details may subsequently appear in another form.

The purpose of this paper is to describe healthy lifestyle initiatives in a secure psychiatric facility and the evidence base for these interventions.

Following a detailed review of the literature on the physical health of psychiatric inpatients, a trans-diagnostic approach to behaviour change is advocated in selected areas.

Lifestyle strategy proposals were produced that incorporate the principle of “libertarian paternalism” in making changes to eating and exercise behaviour; a programme of motivational and reinforcement strategies; and facility-specific environmental restructuring to include maximising the therapeutic use of green space.

Instituting described changes needs to be accompanied by a programme of evaluation to assess intervention-specific physical health changes.

This paper provides a synthesis of findings in key areas of behaviour change relevant to improving the physical health of psychiatric patients in secure settings. It is a co-ordinated and interlinked lifestyle strategy that has applicability to similar services.

To present systematic social observation (SSO) data concerning the work routines and citizen interactions of suburban police officers, including a detailed breakdown of how these officers spent time on their shift and the nature in which they interacted with citizens.

This paper presents systematic social observation.

In some ways, suburban police officers behave much like other types of officers, especially the manner in which they spend time alone on shift. There appears to be some degree of variability in terms of the nature of police‐citizen encounters both within the observed group of suburban officers and between them and other types of police.

Researchers interested in describing variations in police behavior across agencies should strive to include suburban agencies in their samples, so that it can be investigated whether or not, and to what degree, suburban community structures impact police behavior on the street.

Of value to those involved with, or interested in, variations in police behavior across suburban communities.

Quality function deployment (QFD) has had considerable success in terms of its implementation in companies. It has also been the subject of many studies in recent years. It seems, however, that there are some shortcomings in the research on this subject and in particular the lack of an adequate conceptual framework suitable for empirical research. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue.

This study proposes and elaborates a model which examines QFD in relation to three dimensions of performance: improvement of product quality, reduction in costs for R&D, shorter R&D time. The model is empirically tested on data gathered on a stratified random sample of manufacturing plants through the application of valid and reliable measures. The model is tested using structural equation modeling.

The results show three distinct paths of direct influence which lead, respectively, to superior economic performance. The empirical study has shown that the success of a QFD project is mainly influenced by motivated employees in the QFD project team. A comprehensive technical support for the QFD project is also a crucial key success factor. The strict organization of the QFD project is of minor, however still remarkable importance for the success.

This article specifically addresses the following four questions. What are the variables which affect QFD? What are the outcomes from using QFD? What relationships exist between QFD variables and outcomes? What guidelines may be offered for managers of QFD? By answering these questions the manager will get a clear understanding of the impact of QFD on corporate success.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate hierarchical impacts on specific transformational leadership (TFL) behaviors (i.e. idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration).

Survey data on TFL, job satisfaction, and hierarchy were collected from 448 managers from a multinational corporation in Sweden.

Idealized influence and inspirational motivation occurred more frequently among upper rather than middle managers, while there were no differences for intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration. Also, idealized influence, inspirational motivation, and intellectual stimulation were more effective in strengthening subordinates' job satisfaction among upper rather than middle managers, while individualized consideration was similarly effective in both groups.

The cross‐sectional research design precludes causal conclusions and potentially allows for common method bias. With the main research interest pertaining to hierarchical differences in TFL, however, method bias seems unlikely to fully account for the results.

Study results emphasize the necessity to strengthen TFL on lower managerial levels. Organizations might achieve this by cutting administrative constraints and empowering lower level leaders.

The study addresses repeated calls for a consideration of contextual factors in TFL research. It points to the role of hierarchy as a boundary condition of TFL.

The Supreme Court has made its first ruling on “trade dress”. Trade dress was defined by the Supreme Court as “...the overall image of the business”. The Court granted protection to a Mexican restaurant in Texas and barred a competitor from duplicating its total image. Summarizes the issues surrounding the intellectual property law element, “trade dress”, discusses the landmark recent Supreme Court case on trade dress (Two Pesos, Inc. v. Taco Cabana, Inc.), and examines the marketing implications emerging from that ruling. The legal concept of trade dress is very important for managers because it offers permanent protection for distinctive, multi‐feature business images. Thus, the company capturing the best trade dress for its type of product can achieve that golden fleece of business – an important, sustainable competitive advantage.

Daiwa, Sumitomo, and Bank of Estonia experiences display patterns from which lessons emerge for public sector financial managers. Effective fiscal policies, avoidance of conflicts of interest, and attention to the hazards of joint regulation by home- and foreign-owned entities’ regulators are essential to avoid scandals and allegations of public sector corruption. Through international initiatives to align capital requirements, alongside budgetary commitments to regulation, examinations, and monitoring activities, financial managers can develop a more effective infrastructure for global financial markets. This paper details the scandals, documents their social cost, identifies patterns, discusses implications for public policy and budgeting, and proposes action.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between audit committee characteristics and a firm’s ability to guide analysts’ forecasts downward to meet or beat earnings benchmarks.

The authors expect that a more effective audit committee would be able to reduce managers’ propensity to use downward forecast guidance to avoid negative earnings surprises. Four committee characteristics are used to measure its effectiveness: independence, diligence, expertise and size.

For the pre-SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) period (1996-2002), none of the four audit committee characteristics are significantly associated with managers’ propensity to use downward forecast guidance to avoid negative earnings surprises. For the post-SOX era (2003-2004), however, the likelihood of engaging in downward forecast guidance is significantly lower for firms with larger and more independent audit committees. In addition, the likelihood is significantly lower for audit committees that are more diligent and have a higher proportion of the committee members with accounting or finance-related expertise.

Overall, the authors results suggest that, in response to the increased regulatory and listing requirements in the post-SOX era, audit committees have played a more active role in scrutinizing earnings guidance. Our results also suggest that a more effective audit committee in the post-SOX era curbs managers’ tendency to use downward forecast guidance to meet or beat quarterly earnings targets.

To the authors knowledge, this study is one of the first to examine the role of the audit committee in reviewing managerial earnings guidance. As earnings guidance plays an important role in the overall financial reporting process over time and given the increasing importance of downward forecast guidance in earnings surprise games in recent years, the authors believe this study addresses an important question and adds to prior literature. Also, this study contributes to their understanding of the changing nature and scope of audit committee oversight activities since the passage of SOX.