No / This paper presents new chronological data applied to the problem of providing a date for the construction of a prehistoric building, with a case study from the Old Scatness Broch, Shetland. The innovative methodology employed utilises the combination of radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates with the archaeological information, which includes the stratigraphic relationships of sampled deposits, context information, and evidence relating to the formation of the deposit. This paper discusses the scientific validity of the dates produced, and the advantages that the methodology employed at this site offers for archaeological interpretation. The combined dating evidence suggests that the broch at Old Scatness is earlier than the conventionally accepted dates for broch construction. More broadly it shows the value of integration of the specialists at the planning stages of the excavation. The application of a Bayesian statistical model to the sequences of dates allowed investigation of the robustness of the dates within the stratigraphic sequences, as well as increasing the resolution of the resulting chronology. In addition, the value of utilising multiple dating techniques on the same deposit was demonstrated, as this allowed different dated events to be directly compared as well as issues relating to the formation of the sampled deposit. This in turn impacted on the chronological significance of the resulting dating evidence, and therefore the confidence that could be placed in the results.

No / Interest has grown in the significance of the country-of-origin impact on the Employment Relations (ER) approaches in the international subsidiaries of Multinational Companies (MNCs). In this article, a comparative cross-sectional analysis of German subsidiaries with indigenous UK firms will be provided. The central issues concern the extent to which German MNCs in deregulated Anglo-American industrial relations settings draw on the German ER model, adjust to the host-country context or adopt current ¿best practice¿ prescriptions frequently associated with leading US MNCs. Here, the key questions are: How and to what extent do different industry-specific forces interrelate with country-of-origin effects and pressures to adopt ¿best practice¿ approaches to shape subsidiary ER outcomes? / Hans Blocker Foundation

Yes / Medicines management is only one part of NHS (UK) procurement and management, but essentially a very expensive part. In December 2012 the Department of Health issued an action plan to improve the use of medicines and reduce waste. There is an onus therefore on the NHS to ensure that they are as efficient in the medicines management as possible in all aspects of the supply chain in order to ensure sustainability (economically and operationally). To do this consideration must be given to medicines optimization, from procurement, through to storage, dispensing, compliance and finally waste prevention and reduction and waste retrieval. As part of the larger National Health Service (UK), hospital pharmacy places strong emphasis on contributing to the efficiency targets through reductions in waste and drug spending, and best practice. The purpose of this study is to examine medicines reverse logistics practice within the NHS hospital pharmacies, and the operational strategy which drives such practices. The overarching aim is to explore through qualitative analysis the variance and commonality in strategy and practice in what is a standard logistical activity. The outputs offer transparency of medicines RL as practiced by NHS professionals and contribute to ongoing discussions within the Department of Health (NHS UK) on best practice governing waste medicines recycling processes. A qualitative approach was adopted in undertaking this research study, utilizing a purposive study sample. The survey examined practice in 45 hospitals as individual cases across all stages in the medicines reverse logistics system. The findings indicated there is some commonality in the strategy employed in conducting medicines recycling, and all 3 drivers are prevalent in undertaking recycling and encouraging a more sustainable approach, i.e., economic, corporate citizenship, and legislation. However, the means by which the same objective was achieved differed, such as resource utilisation, training etc. / The full-text of this article was released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 3 Nov 2015.

Yes / Purpose - A number of studies have examined firms’ intellectual capital (IC) disclosure practices. However, the presentation format of IC disclosure (text, numerical and graphs/pictures) is yet to be examined. In addition, there is little evidence on the impact of capital market pressures on IC disclosure. This study aims to examine the relation between presentation format of IC disclosures and three market factors (market-to-book ratio, share price volatility and multiple listing). Design/methodology/approach - Using content analysis, we examine the level of IC disclosure provided in the annual reports of 100 IC-intensive listed UK firms. A 61-IC-item research instrument is used to measure IC disclosure and regression analysis is employed to examine the relation between disclosure and the market factors, controlling for corporate governance and firm specific variables. Findings - Text is the most commonly used format for IC disclosure, whilst the use of graphs/pictures is very low. The findings of the relation between market factors and IC disclosure are mixed. Market-to-book ratio is significantly related to disclosure in text and numerical, but not to graphs/pictures. Share price volatility is only associated with graphs/pictures, whilst multiple listing is only related to text. Originality/value - Our findings suggest that the impact of capital market pressures on IC disclosure might differ with presentation format. In this context, the study makes a significant contribution to the IC disclosure literature.

Yes / This chapter evaluates the consistency of the United Kingdom (UK) regulatory framework on shale gas with Commission Recommendation 2014/70/EU on minimum principles for the exploration and production of unconventional oil and gas. In the absence of European-wide legislation, European Union (EU) Member States have the right to determine the conditions for exploiting their unconventional energy sources. However, due to the environmental and human health risks associated with hydraulic fracturing, the EU has expressed its interest in ensuring adequate protection of the environment and to creating clear and transparent common standards for the benefit of operators, investors and the public while promoting the interests of those Member States which are currently exploring unconventional energy. It can be argued that the UK regime has been designed to address the environmental risks arising from hydraulic fracturing operations and as such it sets a high environmental threshold for operations. In fact, the UK legislation appears to be more comprehensive than in many other jurisdictions commercially exploiting shale gas, and therefore it has a potential to inform the content of any future harmonising measures on the exploration and extraction of such resources at the EU level.

Yes / Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of insider trading on subsequent stock returns in the UK, with a specific focus on the impact of the global financial crisis of 2007-2008 on the relation between CEO and CFO stock purchases and returns. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis uses 10,230 purchases executed in 679 UK firms by 1,477 directors during the period from 2000 to 2010. Subsequent market-adjusted stock returns are regressed on a set of firm-specific accounting, market and corporate governance variables as well as the characteristics of CEOs and CFOs. Additionally, the analysis distinguishes between the opportunistic and routine trades. Findings – The findings reveal that the position of the trading director and the nature of their trades are important in determining the impact on returns of insider trades. In particular, CEO purchases are on the whole more informative than CFO purchases and opportunistic purchases. The trades in the post-crisis period have a greater impact on subsequent stock returns. Research limitations/implications – The empirical analysis is limited to the trades made by two executives. Future research should consider inside trades by all directors and distinguish between executive and non-executive directors. Also, a behavioral measure should be developed to test if the financial crisis affected the trading behavior of directors and whether directors use insider trading strategically to signal information to the market. Practical implications – The impact of directors’ dealings on stock returns is not homogeneous. Financial analysts and investors should pay more attention to different types of trades and the identity of trading director. Originality/value – This paper, to the authors’ knowledge, provides the first attempt that combines in the same framework the identity and personal attributes of trading executive directors, firm-level corporate governance features, the nature of purchase transactions and the trading period characteristics. Furthermore the empirical analysis is carried out during a period that also covers the recent global financial crisis period and its immediate aftermath.

Yes / The paper explores the discrepancy between attitude and behavioural intention in ethical consumption, focusing on the role of techniques of neutralisation. Drawing on findings of 251 respondents in the UK, results suggest despite positive attitude towards ethical consumption, consumers are also susceptible to the techniques of neutralisation. Hierarchical and moderated regression analyses reveal that inclusion of the neutralisation construct moderates the influences of attitudes on behavioural intention, and advances the model’s predictive capacity. In spite of suggested positive attitude towards ethical consumption, real existing behaviour is frequently filtered through the techniques of neutralisation. The sample is restricted to in size and location, however the study clearly establishes techniques of neutralisation as a construct in the decision-making process, further warranting examination of each of the techniques. Summary statement of contribution: The study confirms validity of the addition of the neutralisation construct into the modified TPB model noted by Chatzidakis et al. (2007). It suggests improvement in predicting behavioural intention and shows the moderating effects the techniques of neutralisation have on constructs in the modified TPB model. The neutralisation construct is itself found to have a significant impact on moderating purchasing intention in ethical consumption.

Yes / This study examines the impact of internal corporate governance mechanisms on insurance companies’ risk-taking in the UK context. The study uses a panel data of all listed insurance companies on FTSE 350 over the 2005-2014 period. The results show that the board size and board meetings are significantly and negatively related to risk-taking. In contrast, the results show that board independence and audit committee size are statistically insignificant, but negatively related to risk-taking. The findings are robust to alternative measures and endogeneities. Our findings have important implications for investors, managers, regulators of financial institutions and effectiveness of corporate governance reforms that have been pursued.

No / According to Lowe and Phillipson (2006) the traditional binary division into `basic¿ and `applied¿ research, have recently been extended to a new category called `strategic¿ research, signifying research which is both inter-disciplinary and interacts with research users. Sharp and Dixon (2007) have argued that there are different level of strategic research, signifying different levels of interaction, resource sharing, and joint development of outputs. Drawing on this understanding, this paper considers two user-oriented `Integrated Urban Drainage¿ pilot projects conducted during 2006-7, in order to consider what insights these `not-quite¿ research projects can yield about the nature of strategic research. The paper finds that the pilots were similar to other inter-disciplinary research projects ¿ except that they were commissioned and partly managed by practitioners. Common dilemmas, for example about the inter-linkages between work packages and about the extent of stakeholder interaction, highlight the increasingly fluid boundaries between the categories of `policy evaluation¿, `policy pilot¿ and `research project¿. The paper concludes that the concepts of `researcher¿ and `research user¿ might be replaced with a more flexible idea about `research stakeholders¿ whose varied interests in projects require a flexible communication strategy to fulfil a range of needs.

No