Information technology today and tomorrow

This article discusses the innovations that have occurred in information technologies, which have led to the development of ‘intelligent’ electronics- based systems such as robots and computer-controlled tools. The author analyses the debate that has arisen surrounding the production and use of these systems, relating them to employment levels. He considers the future of industry and the economy, which will both see great changes in their structure as intelligent machines become ubiquitous.     

Factors Affecting Self-Employment among Indian and Black Caribbean Men in Britain

The central issue addressed in this paper is encapsulated in the fact that many Indians, but relatively few black Caribbeans, are self-employed in Britain. This paper suggests two factors: first, black Caribbeans were "ethnically disinclined" to enter business; second, they did not posses the attributes that were positively related to entering business. Using data from the 1991 Census, this paper pinpoints how much of the observed paucity of self-employed black males in Britain was use to ethnic disinclination and how much was due to attribute disadvantage. More generally, it points to the importance of harnessing attitudes to attributes for generating a high rate rate of entry into self-employment. In this context, the acquisition of "social" attributes that relate to family formation, and the welding of the family into a cohesive economic unit, are at least as important as those attributes, like education, which relate purely to the individual.     

The ePhilanthropy revolution

"The e-philanthropy revolution is here to stay, and it will transform charitable giving in as profound a way as technology is changing the commercial world. Charities that have dismissed e-philanthropy, as a fad, or run from it in confusion, will, sooner or later, need to become reconciled to it. If they don't, they risk losing touch with donors and imperiling the vitality of their work."     

Growth patterns of the world’s largest firms, 1962–1982

Zusammenfassung Wachstumsmuster der gr?\ten Firmen der Welt zwischen 1962 und 1982. - Mit Hilfen der Gibrat- und Galton-Modelle wird gezeigt, da\ in den beiden Perioden 1962–1972 und 1972–1982 das Wachstum der gr?\ten Unternehmen langsamer war als das kleinerer Unternehmen. Die wirtschaftliche Konzentration innerhalb dieser Gruppe von Unternehmen mit Weltgeltung nahm in jeder Periode vermutlich ab. Die kleineren Firmen unter ihnen, die zwischen 1962 und 1972 verh?ltnism?\ig erfolgreich waren, wiederholten diesen Erfolg zwischen 1972 und 1982: “Erfolg erzeugt Erfolg”. Die Nationalit?t der Firmen scheint auf diese Ergebnisse für die Periode 1962–1972 ohne Einflu\ gewesen zu sein. Zwischen 1972 und 1982 dagegen gab es in Deutschland und Japan im Gegensatz zu den USA, Gro\britannien und dem Rest der Welt keine Tendenz der kleineren Firmen, schneller zu wachsen.

---

Résumé Structures de croissance des entreprises mondiales les plus grandes, 1962–1982.- En utilisant les modèles de Gibrat et Galton, les auteurs démontrent que la croissance proportioneile des entreprises les plus grandes était plus lente que celle des entreprises plus petites dans les deux périodes 1962–1972 et 1972–1980. La concentration dans ce groupe des grandes entreprises a probablement décr? dans chaque période. Des petites entreprises qui avaient relativement beaucoup de succès en 1962–1972 répétaient la bonne performance en 1972–1982: “succès produit de succès”. La nationalité de l’entreprise ne semble pas avoir influencé ces résultats en 1962–1972. Mais pour la période 1972–1982, l’Allemagne et le Japon différaient des Etats Unis, du R.U. et du reste du monde en manière que les entreprises les plus petites n’accroissent pas plus vite.

---

Resumen Pautas de crecimiento de las empresas más importantes, 1962–1982. — Utilizando los modelos de Gibrat y de Galton se demuestra que las empresas más grandes han crecido más lentamente que las empresas peque?as en los períodos 1962–1972 y 1972–1982. La concentración de empresas importantes probablemente disminuyó en cada período. Las empresas peque?as con éxito relativo en 1962–1972 pudieron repetir su éxito en 1972–1982: el éxito genera éxito. La nacionalidad de las empresas parece no haber tenido efecto sobre los resultados para 1962–1972. Pero en 1972–1982, Alemania y el Japón se diferenciaron de los EEUU, el Reino Unido y el resto del mundo al carecer de una tendencia favorable para la peque?a empresa.