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The purpose of this article is to compare the methods of interpretation and gap filling in the United Nations Sales Convention (CISG) and in the Draft Common European Sales Law (CESL). In particular, it aims to examine whether the established interpretation and gap filling method of the CISG can and should be used for the CESL.

The article looks at the method by which international case law and doctrine interpret the CISG and fill its gaps. The article compares this method with the method that is provided for in the CESL instrument but has to be implemented.

It is suggested that despite its nature as European community law, CESL should be interpreted in a broad international way since it does not only cover internal EU sales, but also transactions involving parties from outside the EU. For this reason its interpretation and gap filling should follow the method of the CISG so as to interpret similar provisions in a similar way in order to harmonize law within and outside the EU.

Both the CISG and CESL intend to unify legal traditions or different legal systems; the CISG tries to harmonize globally what CESL tries to harmonize regionally. It is important that these two instruments complement one another by the avoidance of divergent interpretations of similar provisions. It would helpful for further research to assess whether and how two decades of experience with the CISG can be used in the interpretation and application of CESL.

CESL's interpretation provision, if it is enacted, is unlikely to change from the current version. The way CESL is interpreted and how its gaps filled will determine its practical significance as a viable opt‐in national law. It is therefore necessary to develop in advance the right interpretive methodology if CESL is to become a meaningful alternative instrument.

The article suggests that the CESL should not be interpreted in the traditional way European community law is interpreted, but, instead, be interpreted under a broad international perspective. It also advances the idea of interconventional interpretation by which the CISG would guide the interpretation of similar provisions found in CESL.

In this chapter, the author offers a horizontal comparison of interpretation standards contained in international legal instruments of different origin. These legal instruments range from international treaties to model laws. They also originate from different law makers such as the United Nations or individual states as well as trade or academic organisations, mainly regulating civil and commercial matters. The author argues that this comparison can provide the basis for the development of a uniform standard in the application of such law, which is often referred to as uniform law because it provides a single source of law to regulate a multitude of situations spanning across national boundaries. The main point of reference is the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, also known as the VCLT. This UN treaty specifically provides a general interpretation standard. From there newer standards occurring in subsequent uniform laws can be integrated using the lex specialis doctrine. This, in turn, provides opportunities for comprehensive usable methods to be developed for uniform law both in a public and private law settings. These then facilitate transparency, fairness and reasonableness. The correct identification of object and purposes of any given instrument is crucial for the successful interpretation of its content. It is this point that needs further research, and this chapter offers a starting point by providing some detailed examples from a range of uniform laws of varying nature including international sales laws, arbitration laws and Double Taxation Conventions.

This study aims to examine the extent to which traditional juristic approaches to determining intention in Islamic law are altered in the institutional framework and standard-setting project of the Malaysian state.

The study used the transnational law theory, which views normativity as culturally, socially and religiously embedded. The development of norms, customs and laws is also contingent on self-maximizing behavior. The Sharīʿa Advisory Council’s interpretation of the bayʿ al-ʿīnah standard is a case study of this approach to the development of law.

This study shows that traditional approaches to determining the validity of an Islamic contract have been displaced by the institutional logic of the state, which prioritizes uniformity and certainty in law and reflects liberal, Western and capitalistic values. Islamic standard setting is part of the state’s objective to uniformize law due to the globalization of financial markets. The normative collisions in the standard-setting project produce a new jurisprudence based on the state’s uniform and purposive determination of a contract’s validity.

Further research on institutional frameworks is needed to conceptualize how Islamic commercial principles and ethics can be incentivized in the state’s legal systems.

Few works, if any, have examined the interaction of the state’s institutional environment with jurists’ traditional approaches to determining contractual intention. Most scholarship assumes the decisive role of market forces, but the role of law and institutions in this context is under-researched.

The aims and objectives of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) have been defeated by the intrusion of domestic laws of different contracting states in the interpretation of the provisions of this Convention. One of the most abused channels of this un-uniform interpretation is through art 4 of the CISG, which excludes the matters of validity and property from the Convention’s jurisdiction. This paper, therefore, aims to critically analyze the dangers of unsystematic reliance on the domestic laws in the interpretation of art 4 of the CISG on matters involving transnational validity and property.

The paper will use doctrinal methodology with critical and analytical approaches. The paper will incisively study the doctrines, theories and principles of law associated with validity of commercial contracts and the implications of exclusion of the doctrine of “validity” under the CISG.

The findings and contribution to knowledge will be by way of canvassing for a uniform transnational validity doctrine that will streamline and position the CISG to serve as a uniform international commercial convention.

This paper adopted a conceptual approach. Even though the paper ventilated the views of many writers on the issue of application of the doctrine of validity under the CISG, the paper, however, carved its own niche by making original recommendations on how to create a uniform validity jurisprudence under the CISG.

The purpose of this paper is to investige the general computing mechanisms of solving the system information problems of interpretation and its fundamental limitations, due to physical basis Turing machine.

For creation of theoretical base of methodology, the authors make an attempt to demonstrate the possibility of a constructive building of Turing machine as meta-ontological basis of computing. In the course of this building the role of the operator of atomic implicative transition if-then as generic operator of recognition/decision-making is shown. In order to substantiate the thesis about the determinative role of implicative transition in the interpretation mechanisms, the authors will carry out the comparative analysis methods of interpretation in systems of pattern recognition and expert systems interpretation type.

The carried-out analysis allows to formulate a common mechanism underlying the classical methods of solving problems of interpretation and to concretize the fundamental limitations of these methods, caused computational basis of their actualization. The cybernetic interpretation of this mechanism is offered.

The fundamental limitations of classical methods of solving problems of interpretation sets the boundaries of the cybernetic approach and allows to outline a way out beyond it. In this context, the authors put forward knowledge-based mechanism of perceptual modeling of dynamics of system visual environment – autonomous agent.

Contemporary literature reveals that, to date, the poultry livestock sector has not received sufficient research attention. This particular industry suffers from unstructured supply chain practices, lack of awareness of the implications of the sustainability concept and failure to recycle poultry wastes. The current research thus attempts to develop an integrated supply chain model in the context of poultry industry in Bangladesh. The study considers both sustainability and supply chain issues in order to incorporate them in the poultry supply chain. By placing the forward and reverse supply chains in a single framework, existing problems can be resolved to gain economic, social and environmental benefits, which will be more sustainable than the present practices.

The theoretical underpinning of this research is ‘sustainability’ and the ‘supply chain processes’ in order to examine possible improvements in the poultry production process along with waste management. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and ‘design science’ methods with the support of system dynamics (SD) and the case study methods. Initially, a mental model is developed followed by the causal loop diagram based on in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and observation techniques. The causal model helps to understand the linkages between the associated variables for each issue. Finally, the causal loop diagram is transformed into a stock and flow (quantitative) model, which is a prerequisite for SD-based simulation modelling. A decision support system (DSS) is then developed to analyse the complex decision-making process along the supply chains.

The findings reveal that integration of the supply chain can bring economic, social and environmental sustainability along with a structured production process. It is also observed that the poultry industry can apply the model outcomes in the real-life practices with minor adjustments. This present research has both theoretical and practical implications. The proposed model’s unique characteristics in mitigating the existing problems are supported by the sustainability and supply chain theories. As for practical implications, the poultry industry in Bangladesh can follow the proposed supply chain structure (as par the research model) and test various policies via simulation prior to its application. Positive outcomes of the simulation study may provide enough confidence to implement the desired changes within the industry and their supply chain networks.

Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way of using the law in specific circumstances, and shows the variations therein. Sums up that arbitration is much the better way to gok as it avoids delays and expenses, plus the vexation/frustration of normal litigation. Concludes that the US and Greek constitutions and common law tradition in England appear to allow involved parties to choose their own judge, who can thus be an arbitrator. Discusses e‐commerce and speculates on this for the future.

Research on employee non-/compliance to information security policies suffers from inconsistent results and there is an ongoing discussion about the dominating survey research methodology and its potential effect on these results. This study aims to add to this discussion by investigating discrepancies between what the authors claim to measure (theoretical properties of variables) and what they actually measure (respondents’ interpretations of the operationalized variables). This study asks: How well do respondents’ interpretations of variables correspond to their theoretical definitions? What are the characteristics of any discrepancies between variable definitions and respondent interpretations?

This study is based on in-depth interviews with 17 respondents from the Swedish public sector to understand how they interpret questionnaire measurement items operationalizing the variables Perceived Severity from Protection Motivation Theory and Attitude from Theory of Planned Behavior.

The authors found that respondents’ interpretations in many cases differ substantially from the theoretical definitions. Overall, the authors found four principal ways in which respondents interpreted measurement items – referred to as property contextualization, extension, alteration and oscillation – each implying more or less (dis)alignment with the intended theoretical properties of the two variables examined.

The qualitative method used proved vital to better understand respondents’ interpretations which, in turn, is key for improving self-reporting measurement instruments. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is a first step toward understanding how precise and uniform definitions of variables’ theoretical properties can be operationalized into effective measurement items.

Purpose – This article examines a detailed case study of the symbolic use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) in an Egyptian state-owned company (AQF Co.) that is partially privatized by drawing on new institutional sociology (NIS) and its extensions. It explains how the ceremonial use of IFRSs is shaped by the interplay between institutionalized accounting practices, conflicting institutions, power relations, and the role of information technology (IT) in institutionalizing accounting rules and routines.

Methodology/approach – The research methodology is based on an intensive case study informed by NIS, especially the interplay between conflicting institutions, power relations, and IT role in institutionalizing accounting practice. Data were collected from multiple sources, including interviews, discussions, and documentary analysis.

Findings – The findings revealed that the company faced conflicting institutional demands from outside. The Central Agency for Accountability required the company to use the Uniform Accounting System (as a state-owned enterprise) and the Egyptian Capital Market Authority (CMA) required the company to use IFRSs (as a partially private sector company registered in the stock exchange). To meet these conflicting institutional demands, the company adopted loosely coupled accounting rules and routines and IT was used in institutionalizing existing Uniform Accounting System and preserving the status quo.

Research limitations – This study has limitations associated with its use of the case study method, including the inability to generalize from the findings of a single case study and the subjective interpretation by the researcher of the empirical data.

Practical implications – This article identifies that the interplay between institutional pressures, institutionalized accounting practices, intra-organizational power relations, and the role of IT in institutionalizing accounting routines contributed to the ceremonial use of IFRSs in an Egyptian state-owned enterprise. Understanding such relationships can help other organizations to become more aware of the factors affecting successful implementation and internalization of IFRSs and provide a better basis for planning the introduction of IFRSs into other organizations worldwide.

Originality/value of article – This article draws on recent research and thinking in sociology, especially the development and application of NIS. In addition, this article is concerned with the symbolic use of IFRSs in a transitional developing economy, Egypt, and hence contributes to debate about exporting Western accounting practices and other technologies to countries with different cultures and different stages of economic and political development.

The purpose of this article is to examine whether officer uniform color influences impressions the public forms about the character of police officers.

A survey using digitally manipulated photographic prompts was used to examine how various levels of officer race, posture, and uniform color as well as a number of other experiential, attitudinal and demographic variables influenced subjects' impressions of officers' character on factor scores constructed from a set of semantic differential scales.

Officer uniform color influences impression formation, but not in the expected manner. Black uniforms elicited more positive impressions of officers than did lighter uniforms.

Convenience sample was drawn from university undergraduates.

Darker uniforms for police may enhance favorable character impressions formed by some sectors of the public.

The research instrument improves measurement validity over prior methods while maintaining a precise experimental control. Findings contradict the conclusions of prior research on public perceptions of darker vs lighter police uniforms.