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The traditional view of the employment relationship between the information systems (IS) professional and the employing firm is one where the employee is governed by internal, hierarchical control. However, more recently, there are indications that firms may be adopting external forms of structuring their IS workforce which move away from the traditional internal structure (for example, by outsourcing activities). Proposes different views to explain preferences for external employment relationships: a market perspective which emphasizes economic factors, and a cultural perspective which views organizations as an expression of patterned values. Examines the efficacy of each approach by providing an empirical investigation of the extent to which IS workers are externalized in the USA and Singapore. Results suggest that the USA utilizes more externalized IS employment structures than Singapore. These results are interpreted from both market and cultural perspectives.

The aim of this study is to understand how virtual teams experience perceived proximity. Existing literature suggests that perceived proximity can be achieved through quality communication and increased identification. However, not much is known as to how these two may be achieved within the context of virtual teams.

The authors address their research question through a comparative case study, with the help of two virtual teams of software developers and the authors adopt a subset from the Constructivist Grounded Theory Method procedures for the purposes of coding to understand the potential explanations regarding the two teams' differences in perceptions of perceived proximity.

The authors’ study shows that shared mental models support quality communication and team members to identify with the shared values of their team. Quality communication is easier achieved when the team shares a dynamic and evolving understanding of the tools for communication and collaboration. The authors also draw attention to the importance of how work is organised and the influence of the temporal dimension on virtual teams beyond the temporal organisation of collaborative work.

The value of this study is found in its contribution towards the development of a formal connection between perceived proximity and shared mental models, that is empirically grounded, and which holds an explanatory value in addressing how perceived proximity can be supported rather than compromised.

With recent shifts in market forces driven by food safety and quality concerns, managers in the Brazilian beef processing industry are forced to reevaluate their procurement arrangements with cattle producers. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight on the effect of live-weight (LW) and dead-weight (DW) procurement arrangements on farmers’ incentives to invest in cattle quality.

The research methods involve a conceptual model based on principal-agent framework and data from targeted interviews of cattle farmers and slaughterhouse managers in the Western Region of São Paulo state of Brazil.

Findings highlight the potential for adverse selection of low-quality cattle producers under LW arrangement and misaligned incentives for quality improvement, they also illustrate incentive compatibility of DW arrangement when the carcass yield is verifiable by producers. The evidence from field data was largely consistent with the predictions of the model and highlighted the important role of trust for a lasting procurement relationship under DW arrangement.

Due to the lack of publicly available data and the challenges associated with the collection of primary field data, the sample is limited to 30 cattle producers and 5 processing firms.

This paper provides a theoretical and empirical platform for developing further research on coordination at the producer–processor interface of beef supply chain in Brazil and other countries with similar transaction characteristics. The findings will assist in designing more incentive compatible and self-enforcing arrangements between cattle farmers and slaughterhouses to enhance the product quality and the overall efficiency of the supply chain.

The purpose of this special issue is first to highlight the need for wider understanding of the “civilisational challenge” facing humanity, as it encounters and then exceeds significant limits to growth. The second is to present material that provides grounds for developing effective responses.

The issue draws on evidence from previous research, economic modelling and a range of other sources to investigate the hypothesis that humanity is heading towards an “overshoot and collapse” future. It further suggests that a useful way of responding is to explore the possibility that the prospect of collapse can be moderated or avoided through a process of “conscious descent.”

The main findings are that a very wide spectrum of policies, actions, strategies and options is available that can and should be used to help us avoid the most disastrous manifestations of “overshoot and collapse.” Yet there are also many barriers and impediments that continue to inhibit effective responses. This means that the process of coming to grips with the “civilisational challenge” will take longer and become increasingly costly. Denialism and short term thinking remain embedded in dominant institutions and mainstream practice. Currently, vastly more is miss-spent on various perverse incentives (e.g. advertising, the funding of denial, fossil fuel subsidies) than on securing the future of civilisation. This can be seen as a consequence of outdated values and inadequate worldviews.

The contributions here represent a sample from within a rapidly expanding field of enquiry and action. They should therefore be seen as indicating the need for further high quality investigation, work and action. The main implication is that this process needs to be taken seriously, properly resourced and eventually transformed into a mainstream social project.

The papers are contributions to an in-depth understanding of a complex and evolving situation. Their value lies in the fact that greater understanding and a commitment to early action are among the most productive investments available to societies vulnerable to the systemic threats outlined here. As such, the special issue evokes a fundamental tenet of foresight work in general. Or to put this in the words of Bertrand de Jouvenel, “the proof of improvidence lies in falling under the empire of necessity.”

It was during the second world war that the first Indian and Pakistani immigrants began to arrive in Britain; most were sailors who deserted their ships and moved inland to work in the Midland factories. By the early 1950s these men had started to send for their kinsmen and fellow villagers in India and Pakistan. A rapid build up of immigration occurred until by 1961 nearly 100,000 Asians were arriving in Britain annually. At this stage only a very small proportion of the immigrants were women. In Bradford the 1961 census revealed that for every Asian woman there were 42 men.

This chapter aims to provide an overview of the ethical framework and decision-making in clinical dementia research, and to analyze and discuss the ethical challenges and issues that can arise when conducting clinical dementia research.

Informed consent is the most scrutinized and controversial aspect of clinical research ethics. In clinical dementia research, assessing decision-making capacity may be challenging as the nature and progress of each disease influences decision-making capacity in diverse ways. Persons with dementia represent a vulnerable population deserving special attention when developing, implementing, and evaluating the informed consent process. In this chapter, particular attention will be given to vulnerability categories and how these influence decision-making capacity. Ethical frameworks with a pragmatic contour and implication are needed to protect vulnerable patients from potential harms and ensure their optimal participation in clinical dementia research.

In addition, this chapter analyses important ethical challenges and issues in clinical dementia research. If handled thoughtfully, they would not pose insuperable barriers to research. But if they are ignored, they could slow the research process, alienate potential study subjects and cause harm to research participants. Ethical considerations in research involving persons with dementia primarily concern the representation of the interests of the participants with dementia and protection of their vulnerabilities and rights.

A core set of ethical questions and recommendations are drawn to aid researchers, institutional review boards and potential research participants in the process of participating in clinical dementia research.

The earliest law of the adulteration of food imposed divisions among the local authorities of the day in functions and enforcements; most of the urban and rural sanitary authorities possessed no power under the law. Provisions dealing with unfit food — diseased, unsound, unwholesome or unfit for human food — were not in the first sale of food and drugs measure and there duties were wholly discharged by all local authorities. Rural sanitary authorities were excluded from food and drugs law and boroughs and urban authorities severly restricted. Enforcement in the rural areas was by the county council, although local officers were empowered to take samples of food and submit them for analysis to the public analyst. Power to appoint the public analyst for the area was the main criterion of a “food and drugs authority”. The Minister had power to direct an authority with a population of less than 40,000 but more than 20,000 to enforce the law of adulteration.