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The delivery of assistance to SMEs, provided by enterprise councils at the local level, can vary between those bodies which are innovative and those which are pedestrian in their approach. Although it is generally accepted that most small firms in the UK sell to local markets, SMEs based within the Aberdeen area of Scotland play an important role in exporting and employment. The potential for birth and growth of firms exists in a number of targeted key sectors which aid the economic development of the Aberdeen area. However, assistance is required to bring people together in order to encourage networking, and this paper seeks to explore the process of facilitating an enterprise culture by examining the collaboration and partnership roles played by a LEC and a university in initiatives which foster enterprise. The relationship of the researchers and practitioners is similar to the model outlined by Oakey and Mukhtar where research and practice are used to inform each other, over time, to identify policy needs. The initiatives examined in this paper are the Entrepreneurs’ Club where established entrepreneurs mix with others at the new venture stage, and the Chrysalis Elite programme which links graduates with existing owner managers, creating a work‐based project involving groups of students. These links extend to the wider business community and organisations, including local entrepreneurs (who provide prizes and guidance), 3i and the Local Investors Network Company (LINC), who offer advice and opportunities. The main outcomes for policy in this paper are that collaboration between a LEC and a university can be very effective in assisting individuals or groups to meet the challenge of building entrepreneurial networks and that effective support can be provided for students to gain experience from the business community.

Evidence from epidemiological studies (Doll and Peto, 1981 European Atherosclerosis Society, 1987) has clearly pointed to a strong association between food consumption and disease. This association has been used to account at least in part for the relationship between social class and a range of diseases (Townsend, Davidson and Whitehead, 1988), as evidence from survey research (MAFF, 1987) suggests that patterns of food consumption and dietary intake vary markedly between social classes and income groups. The aim of this article, drawing on data derived from an exploratory, qualitative investigation of patterns of food consumption in middle class and working class households, attempts to throw some light on the relationship between social class and food consumption.

Presents a special issue, enlisting the help of the author’s students and colleagues, focusing on age, sex, colour and disability discrimination in America. Breaks the evidence down into manageable chunks, covering: age discrimination in the workplace; discrimination against African‐Americans; sex discrimination in the workplace; same sex sexual harassment; how to investigate and prove disability discrimination; sexual harassment in the military; when the main US job‐discrimination law applies to small companies; how to investigate and prove racial discrimination; developments concerning race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; developments concerning discrimination against workers with HIV or AIDS; developments concerning discrimination based on refusal of family care leave; developments concerning discrimination against gay or lesbian employees; developments concerning discrimination based on colour; how to investigate and prove discrimination concerning based on colour; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; using statistics in employment discrimination cases; race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning gender discrimination in the workplace; discrimination in Japanese organizations in America; discrimination in the entertainment industry; discrimination in the utility industry; understanding and effectively managing national origin discrimination; how to investigate and prove hiring discrimination based on colour; and, finally, how to investigate sexual harassment in the workplace.

This study adds to the evidence concerning the link between the fees that auditors charge for audit and non‐audit services to the same client. We argue that audit fees will be cross‐subsidised in a particular way: they will be reduced dollar for dollar by the expected profi ts from nonaudit work that is ‘tied’ to the engagement in the sense that such work generally goes to the incumbent auditor. This argument is tested using New Zealand listed company data for 2002. A nonlinear model for audit fees is developed that respects the mathematical relationship between audit and non‐audit fees implied by the argument from tied profits, and which includes standard control variables in a mathematically consistent way. When linearized for estimation the model has a form that differs from the linear regressions commonly used. The coefficient which tests for cross‐subsidisation is not significant, and the confi dence interval for that coefficient excludes plausible numerical values. Changing the way in which non‐audit fees are scaled and using a conventional (but unjustified) control for subsidiaries leads to a significant but spurious positive association between audit and nonaudit fees. This indicates the importance of avoiding mathematically infeasible specifications in audit‐fee research.

Collegiate livestock judging is primarily an extracurricular activity that reinforces concepts taught in the classroom. Previous research has determined that participating on a livestock judging team can aid in the development of perceived life skills. Participants of this study indicated that their experience on a collegiate team helped them develop professional public speaking skills, learn the value of hard work and dedication, and be task and goal- oriented.

This paper is partly informed by lived experience. It briefly examines general lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) mental health and some of the factors that influence the engagement of LGB people with mainstream mental health services. It discusses areas for awareness‐raising and practice development, specificially those concerning the recognition of and provision for LGB people who are from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds or who are seeking asylum in the UK.

Presents the results of a survey of consumer lifestyles in New Zealand, undertaken in 1995‐96, and compares the findings with those of a previous study undertaken in 1989. Describes the research methodology – questionnaire construction, data collection (3773 questionnaires analysed), sample representation, and data analysis (k‐means non‐hierarchical clustering techniques on SPSS for Windows). Identifies seven segments of the population and their relative sizes. Categorizes these segments as: active family values people; conservative quiet lifers; educated liberals; accepting mid‐lifers; success‐driven extroverts; pragmatic strugglers; and social strivers. Records changes that have been observed since 1989, specifically in attitudes towards the self, opinions about the family, social standards, and New Zealand as a country in which to live. Points out that groups have had to be renamed as their emphasis has shifted and that numbers have swelled some groups while shrinking others – particularly noticeable is the disappearance of active family values people (and their replacement with pragmatic strugglers) and the emerging accepting mid‐lifers group. Provides an insight into New Zealand’s consumer lifestyles and indicates how change affects values and lifestyles.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

Readers of this journal will be well aware of the turbulent, complex, dynamic and competitive nature of today's business environment. As a sizeable and significant part of the British economy, the hotel industry has not escaped this reality. Often characterised in the past as an old, traditional and reliable business, this industry is changing as it matures. For example, patterns of ownership are evolving from a fragmented collection of small independently owned businesses towards large corporate organisations, such as Trusthouse Forte and Ladbroke Hotels. Competition has intensified as a result of this industrial concentration and, confronted by this increasingly hostile and competitive environment, all hotel operators have been forced to take stock and to search for new directions. This, in turn, has produced a fundamental reassessment of the nature of the industry and the path along which it is heading.

Wonders whether companies actually have employees best interests at heart across physical, mental and spiritual spheres. Posits that most organizations ignore their workforce – not even, in many cases, describing workers as assets! Describes many studies to back up this claim in theis work based on the 2002 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference, in Cardiff, Wales.