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This chapter provides a response to ‘Developing Standards for Research Practice: Some Issues for Consideration’ by James Parry (2017). This draws in particular on the experience of Canadian research agencies of developing guidance on ethics principles applicable to research practice across the natural and social sciences and engineering. This was achieved based on the concept that there are underlying principles common to all disciplines conducting research with humans.

This paper considers the issues facing banks who become engaged in litigation and the strategies and procedures available to obtain the most effective solutions. How these will be affected by the reforms in civil procedure proposed by Lord Woolf are also discussed.

A review of Nancy MacLean’s Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America focuses on the implications of her historiographic method in reading Jim Buchanan’s work and the resulting failure to take seriously the underlying framework of constitutional political economy that informed both Jim Buchanan’s and Frank H. Knight’s work. MacLean’s historiography is that of social movement history, which sublimates the interests and motivations of the individual to that of the movement. The real scholar disappears into simply an agent of the movement’s master plan. Because MacLean is suspicious of the movement she believes Buchanan to be part of, his work is interpreted solely in light of what she assumes to be the master plan. In particular, she ignores Buchanan’s habit of returning to key themes in order to develop new modes of analysis. MacLean focuses solely on his public choice work, ignoring the latter developments of constitutional economics and even moral order.

Two issues in MacLean’s account are the focus on the review. The first is simply a research mistake that she drew unwarranted conclusions from regarding Buchanan’s connection to the “massive resistance” movement against desegregation of Virginia public schools. The second issue reveals MacLean’s unwillingness to consider the changes in Buchanan’s scholarship over his career. Taken together, the issues indicate that she refused to read Buchanan on his own terms in order to understand the progress of his work, even if she disagreed with him at the end.

The Milk (Amendment) Order, 1917, which came into force on December 31st, provides that milk shall be sold retail only by Imperial measure; that no colouring matter shall be added to milk or cream intended for sale; that no milk to which any water has been added shall knowingly be sold or offered for sale; that no person may use for the purpose of his trade any milk can or milk bottle which bears the name, trade name, trade mark, or trade device of some person other than himself or his employer, except with the consent of such person. The Order contains a new clause, in substitution for Clauses 4 and 6 of the Milk Order, 1917 (which are revoked), providing that where milk is sold wholesale by or on behalf of any person other than the producer the maximum prices chargeable shall, unless otherwise determined, pursuant to the Order, be as follows:—

In the early days of pipe protection, it was thought that any coating reinforced with any type of wrapping could not fail to extend the life of a buried pipeline system. Today, as a result of experience accumulated by many users in different parts of the world, we know that only the careful selection of both pipe coatings and reinforcing inner and outer wraps can be relied on to protect a buried pipeline system effectively. This article considers the functions of a pipeline coating, and the materials and coating systems which best carry out these functions.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and provide an insight into the benefits of outsourcing the procurement function for engineering commodity items.

Research into the literature presents the development of outsourcing procurement functions and this manuscript adds to the body of knowledge through introducing the outsourcing of engineering commodity procurement, illustrated with the case study example.

A US Aerospace Fortune 50 company has made savings by outsourcing the procurement of commodity engineering parts. This has occurred in two stages. Firstly the commodity procurement was locally outsourced and staff migrated to the service provider to whom commodity procurement was a core competence enabling them to offer cost savings. Secondly the back office and telephone service was moved to India, further reducing cost whilst enhancing the service through an increased headcount.

The paper provides the first example of the two stages of outsourcing engineering commodity procurement.

This chapter considers the current standards that exist for the conduct of research and whether these standards are being met. Issues of scope and terminology are discussed and debated. Also considered are the reasons and benefits to the Academy of Social Sciences and other professional and disciplinary bodies by being involved in developing generic ethics principles in social science research.

The inaugural meeting of the newly established National Party was held in the Queen's Hall, Langham Place, on Thursday, October 25th, under the presidency of Admiral Lord Beresford. There was a large and distinguished audience numbering about 3,000 persons, among those on the platform being Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, Brigadier‐General Page Croft, M.P., Mr. Havelock Wilson, Miss Constance Williams, the Hon. G. J. Jenkins (all of whom addressed the meeting), Earl Bathurst, Sir C. Allom, Major Alan Burgoyne, M.P., Colonel Cassal, Mr. G. K. Chesterton, Sir R. Cooper, M.P., Capt. Viscount Duncannon, M.P., Sir W. Earnshaw Cooper, Mr. H. A. Gwynne, Mr. Rowland Hunt, M.P., Lieut.‐Col. Lord Leconfield, Lord Leith of Fyvie, Admiral Sir H. Markham, The Earl of Northesk, Colonel R. H. Rawson, M.P., Lord Edward St. Maur, Admiral Sir Edward Seymour, Lord Stafford and others.

This paper presents a review examining an Australian public sector competency framework through the lens of emotional intelligence (EQ) to answer the question “To what extent is the concept of EQ used to facilitate NSW public sector reform?” The purpose of this paper is to accentuate the importance of emotional capacity as an important capability to achieve reform goals, recognising the public sector’s deep organisational history and accepting that change is an emotional event, and that people achieve change.

A literature review drawing relationships between culture, change and emotion is applied to a capability framework for the public sector in the State of NSW. This review serves two purposes. First, it examines interacting factors that define the public sector context – a culture developed over generations, identity, the impact of culture on change and the relationship between change and emotions. The second examines a concept for its ability to transform this culture in a comparatively short time compared to its evolutionary history. Emotional capacity is framed by the EQ literature and is explored as a competency with particular focus in the NSW public sector. A ProQuest search using keywords Emotional intelligence and Public Sector or Civil Service; and Emotional intelligence and Public Administration located 22 studies across 14 countries looking at EQ in the public sector. These are supplemented by additional studies on EQ. The capability framework is examined against the elements of the only recognised standardised test for EQ (Fiori and Antonakis, 2011), the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test.

The examination concludes that emotional capacity is implicit, if not overlooked within the framework, with continued emphasis on technical and managerial competencies, evident of public sector management still encased in traditional paradigms. The discussion positions the development of emotional capacity as a high-order competency in a challenging reform environment.

The literature review may suffer from publication bias in both the literature cited in this review as well as those studies that have been published, particularly given the small amount of studies available within the public sector environment. The theoretical nature of the matching assessment is subjective and allows potential for variation in interpretation in both the meaning of the competencies and the matching to the four branches of EQ.

Empirical research in EQ is limited in the public sector domain. The public sector has an embedded culture weighed with assumptions steeped in history. A public sector organisation is valuable for longitudinal studies as many employees stay for considerable years if not their whole career. Further empirical research within this sector in examining the impact of emotional capacity on cultural reform would enhance the knowledge in this field.

The paper contributes to the limited literature examining the optimal competencies in particular emotional capacity for reform in the public sector.