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AB Wilh. Becker of Sweden (‘Becker’) has reached agreement with Cookson Group plc (‘Cookson’) in connection with the sale to Becker of 75 per cent, of the issued share capital of Goodlass Wall & Company, Ltd (‘GW’) and Alexander, Fergusson & Company, Ltd (‘AF’) together with option arrangements covering the remaining 25 per cent of the shares.

Adaptation appears to be regarded as a panacea in policy circles to reduce the risk of impending crises resulting from contemporary changes, including but not restricted to climate change. Such conceptions can be problematic, generally assuming adaptation as an entirely positive and non-conflictual process. The purpose of this paper is to challenge such uncritical views, drawing attention to the conflictual nature of adaptation, and propose a theoretical framework facilitating the identification and analysis of conflicts in adaptation.

The study is based on case study research using first-hand narratives of adaptation in Nepal and the Maldives collected using qualitative interviews, participant observation and document analysis.

The findings identify conflicts between actors in, and around, communities that are adapting to changes. These conflicts can be categorized along three dimensions: qualitative differences in the type of conflict, the relative position of conflicting actors and the degree of manifestation of the conflict.

The three-dimensional Adaptation Conflict Framework facilitate analysis of conflicts in adaptation, allowing for a critical examination of subjectivities inherent in the adaptation discourses embedded in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation research and policy. Such an inquiry is crucial for interventions supporting community adaptation to reduce disaster risk.

Decision-making in human resources management is done at both the micro and macro level of organizations. Unfortunately, the decisions at each level are often executed without consideration of the other, and current theory reflects this issue. In response to a call for integration of micro- and macro-level processes by Huselid and Becker (2011), we review the extant literature on strategic human resources and high-performance work systems to provide recommendations for both research and practice. We aimed to contribute to the literature by proposing the incorporation of the situation awareness literature into the high-performance work systems framework to encourage the alignment of human resources efforts. In addition, we provide practical recommendations for integrating situation awareness and strategic decision-making. We discuss a process for the employment of situation awareness in organizations that might not only streamline human resources management but also result in more effective decisions. Additional considerations include implications for teams, boundary conditions (e.g., individual differences), and measurement.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the internal process by which high performance work systems (HPWSs) affect firm performance. It attempts to show the mediating effect of employee job satisfaction in the human resource (HR)‐performance link and also to show the moderating effect of employees' perception on the effectiveness of HPWSs.

Using a nationally representative data set from Korea (firm‐level samples: 245 firms, employee‐level samples: 6,709), this study analyses the mediating effect of job satisfaction in the relationship between HPWSs and firm performance with ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis and examines the moderating effect of employee perceptions with OLS and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM).

Results show that: there are positive associations between HPWSs and firm performance and between HPWSs and job satisfaction; job satisfaction has a mediating effect in the HR‐Performance link; and employees' perceptions of the effectiveness of HR practices moderate these relationships.

Limitations of the study are the measurement of HR practices, omitted variable problem, and generalizability of the results in this study. Scholars argue for the positive effect of HPWSs on firm performance and managers attempt to introduce HPWSs in their firms, but most of them do not fully understand what happens in the HR‐performance link. This study demonstrates that job satisfaction is a “black box” in the linkage between HPWSs and firm performance and may inform managers of appropriate policy levers that, if manipulated appropriately so that employees feel the effectiveness of HPWSs, can help the firm achieve more desirable organizational outcomes.

Many scholars argue that research to examine the internal process in the HR‐performance link is essential for rigorous elaborations of SHRM‐related theories, but few studies have investigated this issue. This study reveals the mediating and moderating mechanisms through which the HR‐performance link exerts its influence.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may have a detrimental impact on the individual’s ability to benefit from rehabilitative prison-based programmes, and studies have also found that there is an association between PTSD and higher rates of re-offending. Studies have also found that a significant number of cases of trauma and PTSD go undetected and therefore untreated in individuals who are incarcerated.

A literature review was carried out exploring studies that have investigated PTSD in incarcerated populations to identify current clinical considerations and recommendations.

This paper explores the key findings from the literature and highlights the important clinical implications and recommendations.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper focusing specifically on how the findings from the literature can inform clinical practice and also what factors need to be given greater consideration, going beyond the current systematic and literature reviews in the field.

This study aims to examine auditor reporting behaviour in the presence of aggressive earnings management (EM) in the context of the Asian Economic Crisis as it affected Malaysia. In the vein of Bartov, Gul and Tsui, the interaction between discretionary or abnormal accruals and audit quality (AQ), as indicated by auditor size and auditor industry specialisation, is examined.

A logistic regression model adapted from various prior studies is utilised to test the hypotheses.

As per earlier findings using Western data, Big 5 auditors in Malaysia appear to qualify more frequently than their non‐Big 5 counterparts when high levels of abnormal accruals are present. However, the interaction between auditor industry specialisation and abnormal accruals is not significant in predicting the incidence of qualification.

This study extends the current literature on AQ differentiation and specifically it attempts to address the gaps in the literature with respect to auditor reporting behaviour in the presence of aggressive EM. In addition, this study provides additional evidence on Big 5/industry specialist quality differentiation in an emerging market (an under‐researched area), Malaysia, arguably with less transparent and weaker governance structures than the developed economies such as the USA, UK, and Australia.

Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on work and employment in contemporary organizations. Covers the human resource management implications of organizational responses to globalization. Examines the theoretical, methodological, empirical and comparative issues pertaining to competitiveness and the management of human resources, the impact of organisational strategies and international production on the workplace, the organization of labour markets, human resource development, cultural change in organisations, trade union responses, and trans‐national corporations. Cites many case studies showing how globalization has brought a lot of opportunities together with much change both to the employee and the employer. Considers the threats to existing cultures, structures and systems.

The purpose of this paper is to examine if gendered differences in risk perception automatically mean that women and men rank the hazards of their community differently, focusing any risk reduction measures on the priority risks of only part of the population.

The study applies survey research through structured personal interviews in three municipalities in El Salvador. The data are analysed using SPSS to find statistically significant associations.

It was found that there are no significant differences between the ranking of hazards of women and men in the studied communities. However, several other parameters have significant associations with the ranking of hazards, indicating that there are more dividing lines than gender that may influence priorities of risk reduction initiatives.

A quantitative study can only indicate how gender and other parameters influence the ranking of hazards. In order to understand why, it must be complemented with qualitative research.

This study indicates that it is vital to communicate with and invite as wide a group of people as possible to participate in the risk reduction process. Not only women and men, but representatives with various livelihoods, income levels, level of education, locations of their dwellings, etc. If not, there is a danger that vital needs and opinions are left out and community commitments to risk reduction measures limited.

The paper presents a new pragmatic argument for wider participation in disaster risk reduction to policy makers and practitioners in the field.

Despite a growing literature on human resource management (HRM) in emerging economies, evidence from Pakistan is limited. There is scant information on both the human resource (HR) practices that indigenous workplaces adopt and their associations with HR-related outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to fill that gap by examining whether universalistic assumptions about the applicability of “high-performance” HR practices are valid in Pakistan, a country with religious values and organizational traditions that differ to those in the west.

This study draws on the, to date, most comprehensive survey of indigenous establishments in Pakistan. The authors use logistic regressions to analyze the data.

Workplaces, in general, adopt several “high-performance” HR practices, such as extensive training, career breaks, rigorous pre-employment candidate assessment, and the sharing of strategic information with employees. Attitude surveys and the provision of training in a variety of jobs to non-managerial employees are consistently associated with better HR-related outcomes (absenteeism, quit rates, and labour productivity). Overall, the paper finds some limited support for the applicability and efficacy of high-performance HRM practices in Pakistan. Such practices conform to Islamic principles. The results also indicate, however, that cultural traits play a role in how those practices are implemented.

Increased adoption of certain HR practices by establishments in Pakistan may help to improve the working conditions and employment prospects of employees and may also ameliorate the country’s sluggish economic growth rates.

HRM in Pakistani establishments has received relatively scant attention. Existing research either focuses on a relatively small number of firms, assesses HR in MNC subsidiaries, or examines a limited range of HR practices. Understanding the HR practices that are (and are not) adopted and their associations with performance outcomes will not just enhance the knowledge of HR in emerging economies, but will also provide insights into how to improve establishment performance and economic growth rates.

Capacity assessment is increasingly identified as a vital tool for effective capacity development for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. However, most internationally supported capacity assessments focus mainly on one administrative level in their attempts to understand the current capacities and capacity needs of the system under study. This article aims to investigate the potential for discrepancies between what stakeholders on different administrative levels in Fiji express when explaining how their system for managing risk and disaster situations functions.

The study includes semi‐structured interviews with involved stakeholders from all administrative levels in Fiji, who are asked to describe what information and assistance is given or requested between administrative levels, in everyday circumstances and in disaster situations. The data were then analysed to identify similarities and differences in descriptions.

The study illustrates that there may be substantial discrepancies between accounts on different administrative levels concerning key functions of their system.

The study is not claiming that this always is the case, only that there may be a possibility for it. Potentially undermining the effectiveness of ensuing capacity development activities.

Given that capacity assessment is to create a coherent foundation for capacity development, the study indicates that it would beneficial to include a wider range of administrative levels in attempting to construct one comprehensive view of the current capacities and future capacity needs.

The research topic is novel and valuable for stakeholders in the international community active in capacity development.