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The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether specific jobs characteristics, which experts have identified as being more automation proof, are associated with reduced job insecurity.

Data come from a recent survey providing information on sources of job insecurity as well as on detailed job characteristics. The analysis is based on various regression models.

People who have jobs that involve lots of personal interaction are less likely to be concerned about losing their job because of automation, or because of other reasons, and are more likely to think their job will exist 50 years from now. Having a creative job does not change these concerns. The share of respondents who fear losing their job to automation is fairly small, and those who do, typically fear other sources of job insecurity as much or even more.

Developing interpersonal skills is more likely to be an effective strategy for reducing job insecurity than developing creative skills. The findings further suggest that policies aimed at automation are unlikely to suffice for the elimination of worry over job loss, as many workers who fear automation at the same time feel there are other reasons that might lead to the loss of their job.

There are very few studies that link fear of losing one’s job to automation to a job’s characteristics. The survey used here is unique in the level of detail provided on job characteristics.

This paper aims to determine to what extent the housing affordability crisis is a “global” crisis and to what extent there is a variation across countries and over time, in who is concerned about housing affordability.

The author analyses data from about 500,000 respondents from over 140 countries and uses both descriptive statistics as well as regression analysis (using a random effects within between model [Bell et al., 2019]).

The findings show that concerns about housing affordability are widespread both within and across countries but the extent of these concerns depends greatly on the country, the subgroup and the indicator analysed. Moreover, in many countries, more people worry about other aspects of life than about housing affordability.

The global diversity in the housing affordability crisis suggests that one should be cautious when extrapolating research findings for a given country to other countries or when proposing housing policy transfer across countries.

The specific nature of the housing affordability crisis varies substantially across countries. Policymakers thus should be aware that there is no guarantee that a housing affordability policy that was effective in one country will also be effective in another country.

This paper is original in its use of the Gallup World poll, a unique survey, which is done world-wide and hence is ideally suited for the purpose of this paper, providing a much more detailed picture of the global housing crisis than so far available in the literature.

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the essential partnerships needed to better guarantee strong added value institutional repository (IR) service provision for faculty user satisfaction, resulting in the essential content acquisition for IRs.

Three crucial partnerships are described as a basis for the development of a meaningful institutional repository service. This paper concentrates on two partnerships: the first describes the importance of partnership between institutions; in this case, an international subject‐specific network: Nereus is an innovative consortium of 15 prestigious European universities and institutes in the area of economics. The second partnership goes into that of the library with its IR content providers and service end users by taking the Economists Online (EO) project model as a case in point.

University libraries and their changing active roles are building valuable partnerships with their clients and information providers; the Nereus consortium, and its EO project is a case in point where benefits are felt by both libraries and researchers. EO is a Nereus cornerstone and aims to increase the usability, accessibility and visibility of economics research by digitizing, organizing, archiving and disseminating the complete academic output of some of Europe's leading economists, with full text access as key. It is building an integrated online showcase of Europe based on IRs. EO's prime goal is to focus on services of direct value to the author, e.g. providing new full text content online, digitizing older material, creating automated publication lists, metadata quality‐control, more focused dissemination of content – all from one repository source and complimentary to the services publishers provide. Successful partnerships can be formed by designing and offering a strong product and service, combined with a good advocacy program containing arguments which support the researcher in his/her work process, and addressing real problems.

Nereus and Economists Online have the potential to be a model for adaptation in any disciplinary sector for disseminating and giving heightened access to scientific output online. Some of the critical success factors of these initiatives have been identified and expanded upon in the paper.

This study aims to examine the impact of December 2012, New Zealand (NZ) stock exchange operator listing rule change that introduced compulsory disclosure about gender diversity on NZ boards.

A quasi-natural experiment setting with a clearly identifiable exogenous event.

The rate of growth in female-held directorships increased significantly after the introduction of the new rule, resulting in, by 2016, the average female board representation being more than double what it had been in 2012. However, this paper finds no relationship between this response and company performance.

This study cannot attribute causality to the observed jump in female directorships following the 2012 listing rule change due to the absence of a control group of firms not subject to this change.

The results are consistent with an efficient director appointment process in NZ.

Low-key regulatory changes can have a significant impact on company behaviour.

The final report of the Butter Regulations Committee has now been published and it is earnestly to be hoped that Regulations based on the Committee's Recommendations will at once be framed and issued by the Board of Agriculture. It will be remembered that in an Interim Report the Committee recommended the adoption of a limit of 16 per cent. for the proportion of water in butter, and that, acting on this recommendation, the Board of Agriculture drew up and issued the “Sale of Butter Regulations, 1902,” under the powers conferred on the Board by Section 4 of the Food Act of 1899. In the present Report the Committee deal with the other matters referred to them, namely, as to what Regulations, if any, might with advantage be made for determining what deficiency in any of the normal constituents of butter, or what addition of extraneous matter other than water, should raise a presumption until the contrary is proved that the butter is not “genuine.” The Committee are to be congratulated on the result of their labours—labours which have obviously been both arduous and lengthy. The questions which have had to be dealt with are intricate and difficult, and they are, moreover, of a highly technical nature. The Committee have evidently worked with the earnest desire to arrive at conclusions which, when applied, would afford as great a measure of protection—as it is possible to give by means of legislative enactments—to the consumer and to the honest producer. The thorough investigation which has been made could result only in the conclusions at which the Committee have arrived, namely, that, in regard to the administration of the Food Acts, (1) an analytical limit should be imposed which limit should determine what degree of deficiency in those constituents which specially characterise butter should raise a presumption that the butter is not “genuine”; (2) that the use of 10 per cent. of a chemically‐recognisable oil in the manufacture of margarine be made compulsory; (3) that steps should be taken to obtain international co‐operation; and finally, that the System of Control, as explained by various witnesses, commends itself to the Committee.

Until after the war of 1914–18 the development of the knowledge of food chemistry lagged behind in this country, but furthermore the utilisation by the medical profession of the knowledge available also lagged behind. This, whilst being deplored, is understandable, for the scope of the training of the members of the medical profession is so extensive that specialised knowledge, until it becomes general knowledge, cannot be incorporated in the scope of their training. One unfortunate aspect of the situation is that members of the medical profession, rightly regarded by the public as their advisers on food matters, have tended, often inadvertently, to mislead on such questions. To illustrate this point I will quote two flagrant instances. In one of the large democracies a trade feud began between the manufacturers of two kinds of baking powders. One of the powders contained aluminium in the form of alum, the other did not. Both financial groups were powerful and employed many scientific advisers, either directly or indirectly. All evidence for and against aluminium was collected and distributed to anyone who showed the slightest interest in the matter. An English physician became impressed by the argument against the use of aluminium for cooking vessels and circulated his opinion widely, giving evidence of many patients he had cured by cutting out the use of aluminium cooking utensils. This was characterised by a writer to the British Medical Journal as an interesting example of “ faith healing.” There is no scientific evidence that the trace of aluminium that may be dissolved from an aluminium saucepan is in any way harmful. Naturally one cannot argue for the few people who have certain idiosyncrasies, and perhaps it has been the fortune of that physician to meet a large proportion of these among his patients. The whole question was discussed in detail some years ago but, although invited, the physician did not attend. A point, not without significance, is that the analytical figures on which the condemnation of aluminium cooking vessels was based, were proved to be wrong. Had they been correct, a stewpan would only last twenty stews before it was all dissolved away! The second example is that of “digestive” teas. Advocates of so‐called digestive teas base their criticism of ordinary teas on the fact that they contain “tannin” which they aver has some extraordinary effect on the stomach lining and on the process of digestion. Naturally the public believe this, and, presumably remembering that the tanning of hides yields a product, leather, they assume that the stomach by analogy becomes tanned; some members of the medical profession also accept the claim of the vendors of the so‐called digestive teas. It is, of course, well known that there is a large group of substances, in many cases with ill‐defined structure, classed as “tannin,” and among these is the tannin from tea which, however, could not be used for the production of leather from hides. Dr. Roche Lynch was very categorical with regard to the absence of clinical evidence at a meeting some little time ago. He stated that he did not believe that post mortem examination had ever revealed any changes of the stomach which could be associated with heavy consumption of tea. The vast majority of these digestive teas have been examined and the point to be specially noted is that the tannin content of these “special” teas is well up to the average of that for ordinary blends of tea, and in certain cases above the average. The Public Analyst for Birmingham has made some scathing comments on “Tanninless” teas. As he said, the inference from the advertisement matter was that the tea would be “more digestible,” would “promote digestion,” or in one case would “cure indigestion.” Other misleading statements are that “Young tips” have been used, but these, in fact, are higher in tannin content than the normal picking of leaves; and that “stalk” has been eliminated, whereas stalk is lower in tannin content than the leaves themselves. It is, of course, well known that sufferers from digestive disorders are very prone to the effect of “suggestion” and one can assume that the clever advertisements have been the cause of the improvement in the patient's condition. The nations most prone to be influenced by considerations of the effect of food eaten on the functions of the body are the Americans and Germans, the former possibly because methods of advertisement have been developed to a higher pitch of efficiency than anywhere else, and the latter because as Hitler has said of the Germans, they are as a nation most gullible. I have mentioned the collection of data in the case of aluminium, and I will deal later with the development of food chemistry as reflected by the amount of published work. There is an ever increasing flow of papers dealing with this aspect of science. During the war of 1914–1918, there was a remarkable falling off of published work, and doubtless we shall experience a similar diminution during the present war, for food chemists, in common with other chemists, are deflected from their ordinary course, urgent practical problems taking precedence over the more fundamental investigations, the results of which are normally published. Our thoughts naturally turn to the general question of the provision of food in war time in this country. We have had that admirable little book “Feeding the People in War Time,” by Orr and Lubbock, just published; we have had lectures, broadcast talks and discussions, but, whilst practical in some senses, the general scope of these discussions has dealt with the subject from a somewhat academic standpoint—certainly not from the angle of the people who have to produce the food. During a period of war the total nutritional value of any food becomes of paramount importance. It is important to remember, however, that the findings of the dietitian have to be translated into factory practice, and until this has been done academic conclusions do not become effective. One cannot commend too highly the idea that there should be certain foods, basic rations, available in large quantities. Orr and Lubbock suggest that these should be: milk, potatoes, oatmeal, vegetables, bread, sugar and either butter or vitaminised margarine. As far as our knowledge goes at present, such a list of basic foods taken in requisite quantities would not only give sufficient calories but those other constituents of food essential to good health. That these should be available to the housewife is apparent, but unless they are relieved by a proportion of the less essential foods, the diet would become deadly dull; many of us remember our experiences in the army in the last war, how spirits flagged when the bare necessities alone were available, and how, moreover, the addition of those little “extras” would raise the morale of the soldier.

In the Court of Appeal last summer, when Van Den Berghs and Jurgens Limited (belonging to the Unilever giant organization) sought a reversal of the decision of the trial judge that their television advertisements of Stork margarine did not contravene Reg. 9, Margarine Regulations, 1967—an action which their Lordships described as fierce but friendly—there were some piercing criticisms by the Court on the phrasing of the Regulations, which was described as “ridiculous”, “illogical” and as “absurdities”. They also remarked upon the fact that from 1971 to 1975, after the Regulations became operative, and seven years from the date they were made, no complaint from enforcement authorities and officers or the organizations normally consulted during the making of such regulations were made, until the Butter Information Council, protecting the interests of the dairy trade and dairy producers, suggested the long‐standing advertisements of Reg. 9. An example of how the interests of descriptions and uses of the word “butter” infringements of Reg. 9. An example af how the interests of enforcement, consumer protection, &c, are not identical with trade interests, who see in legislation, accepted by the first, as injuring sections of the trade. (There is no evidence that the Butter Information Council was one of the organizations consulted by the MAFF before making the Regulations.) The Independant Broadcasting Authority on receiving the Council's complaint and obtaining legal advice, banned plaintiffs' advertisements and suggested they seek a declaration that the said advertisements did not infringe the Regulations. This they did and were refused such a declaration by the trial judge in the Chancery Division, whereupon they went to the Court of Appeal, and it was here, in the course of a very thorough and searching examination of the question and, in particular, the Margarine Regulations, that His Appellate Lordship made use of the critical phrases we have quoted.

To examine the reasons why Renault of France and Nissan of Japan entered into a merger. Over the past decade the automotive industry has been subject to a spate of merges and take‐overs which not only brought about a considerable degree of consolidation, which made it increasingly difficult for smaller concerns such as Renault and Nissan to compete globally. This paper examines the reasons why these two merged and demonstrates how success was achieved in the short term.

The main methodology applied was that of conventional pre‐ and post‐merger analysis models, but with a particular focus on that of Testa and Morosini which has been applied to other industries, but not so far to the automotive.

The conclusions drawn from the papers were that careful pre‐merger approaches had been made by both parties to each other and that Nissan had little alternative but to see Renault as a rescuer. Also illustrated is the role played by strong leadership in the process and the necessity of speedy implementation of post‐merger strategies. Decisions were taken swiftly and the short‐term goals set were achieved.

Limitations centre on the short‐term nature of the paper which has a very narrow focus.

These centre on the importance of a strong relationship between pre‐ and post‐merger strategy policies.

This lies in demonstrating the importance of the Testa‐Morosini model in cross‐border merger analysis.

Argues that the design of the Volvo Uddevalla plant may be described as a process with an “internal logic” in which design options were eliminated through irreversible design decisions until only one alternative remained ‐ an unorthodox alternative comprising, for example, long cycle time work never used before for full‐scale production of automobiles. Contends that the most innovative features of the Uddevalla plant ‐ i.e. the detailed layout in the assembly workshops and the corresponding unorthodox production principles used ‐ were in many respects an unanticipated outcome of the design process. Pre‐existing gross layout of the plant as well as the interaction between the materials feeding techniques adopted and the operation of the automated guided vehicle system. When this was perceived by the Volvo managers, the design process had passed the point of no return, i.e. the investments made and lack of time prevented regression to more traditional layouts and production principles.