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The article suggests that discord in Corporate Social Reporting (CSR) can be related to differing assumptions about (a) society, and (b) the role of CSR in the society/organisation relationship. It is then argued that, with this perspective, the major trends in CSR can be seen to be built around differing views of the world and that recent major developments in the subject focus upon the concepts of accountability and the social contract.

The primary objective of this article is to assist organisational management to evaluate policies on disclosure of information to trade unions. Such policies form part of the industrial relations system of an organisation, which embraces all aspects of personnel and labour management. I shall be drawing particular attention below to the need to consider the dynamic and interactive effects of information on the components of this system. Before looking directly at issues relating specifically to trade union negotiators, therefore, I want briefly to consider some aspects of communication of information to employees in general since there is clearly a potential interaction with the information supply to union negotiators.

The purpose of this paper is to provide comment on the contribution of the Environmental performance accountability special issue of Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal published in 1997 towards the innovation through a personal reflection developed from the perceived need to move academics and practitioners into the same space on environmental improvement by organisations. In addition, the paper will offer future directions for environmental performance accountability research, including the potential for tools such as integrated reporting, the need for theoretical pragmatism and importance of a transdisciplinary approach to research.

The diegetic method used for this article allowed for the provision of a narrative about actions, characters and events of interest to an audience. This method facilitated the intersection between the biographical and the historical content and context, and a hypodiegesis provided the ability for an embedded story within the larger history. The approach allowed for a hypodiegetic as the story within the story of developing the relationships between academic accountants and practitioners.

Contained in the special issue is a set of articles marking the extremes of academic and practitioner perspectives on what is broadly termed environmental performance and accountability. Review of the content of the special issue reveals that the bias is towards academic rather than practitioner appreciation. Review of the context providing the setting for the special issue shows the need for publishers to engage in the social media mechanisms needed to commence dialogue and convey the messages of academics to practitioners.

Subjective assessment is overtly recognized rather than subsumed in the research methods adopted.

The embedding of articles in special issues within a broader communications portfolio for practitioner understanding is suggested.

The nature of the personal reflection means that thoughts recorded are novel and unique.

Ecology considers the interrelationships between all species and matter. It is argued that there are important direct and indirect links between accounting information and ecological effects. A direct link can be traced through identification of some of the conventional problems of accounting. An indirect link can be traced through economics. It is only comparatively recently that the link between economics and ecology has received significant attention. In particular, the relationship between economic development and environmental quality has come to the fore. The concepts of “ecodevelopment”, an ecologically sound economic development strategy, and of “sustainable development” have promoted the view that there may be positive as well as negative interdependences between economics and ecology. With this linking of economics and ecology, the next logical step is to consider possible indirect links between accounting and ecology, with economics as an intervening variable, since a link between accounting and economics has long been established. Having established these direct and indirect links between accounting and ecology, inferences for environmental accounting based on recent Australian agricultural experience are suggested. In conclusion a brief review of the implications of adopting a “Deep Ecology” perspective for such accountings is given.

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.

This paper aims to pay tribute to Rob Gray’s achievements at the University of Dundee in the 1990s – a significant period in the development of the field of social and environmental accounting research.

Memories and reflections.

A personal perception of Rob’s drive, motivations and generosity of spirit.

A portrayal of someone who deserves to be remembered for what he accomplished, and for the collegiate and supportive example he set for others in pursuing social and environmental awareness and responsibility.

The Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research has been running Summer Schools since 1992, when the first was arranged as part of the British Accounting Association’s Summer School programme to encourage new researchers to embark on a research career. Whilst the programme has developed over the ten schools so far held, the ethos has remained the same ‐ encouragement and stimulation in a co‐operative, academic environment. The summer schools have given new and experienced researchers the opportunity to present their ideas ‐ whether as completed papers or as some form of work in progress ‐ to a sympathetic audience in tune with the general themes presented. Mostly, the research forms part of the more general critical approach to accounting research, and participants are more comfortable both with presenting and critiquing ideas using a critical framework. This involves exposing ’conventional’ accounting wisdom and using different frameworks with which to examine what transformations may take place if other perspectives are applied. Having said that, there is a place to air research carried out from a managerialist outlook too, so that a reformist position may also be taken.