The ins and outs of European Monetary Union: some public policy issues

This paper reviews the problems, other than the foregone benefits of EMU, that would face countries-either EU members or non-members closely associated with the EU-as a consequence of staying outside EMU.
Problems both economic and political are discussed, but the primary focus is on economic issues.
It is concluded that there may be minor adverse consequences; but they are only a possibility.
What is clear is that claims that there will inevitably be major adverse consequences - higher inflation or interest rates, or lower growth, for example - are entirely without foundation.     

Diffusion and management of electronic data interchange: barriers and qpportunities in the uk pharmaceutical and healthciare industries

This paper is based on evidence from a survey, conducted during 1992, investigating the adoption of electronic data interchange (EDI) amog neraly 20 furms in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector within the UK. In particular, it focuses on the factors behind the adoption and diffusion of EDI, and the barriers to its uptake and spread. It also analyzes some of the strategic, organizational and managerial issues behind its implementatio and development. The survey highlights the relatively slow rate of adoption of EDI within this sector and key problems that inhibit its uptake. These include issues of costs, standards and the increasingly fragmented nature of purchasing and logistics that results from reorganization within the UK healthcare system.     

Fuzzy Numbers in the Credit Rating of Enterprise Financial Condition

Most of the parameters used to describe the credit rating are in linguistic terms, which are vague and difficult to put into precise numerical values. Fuzzy set theory, which was developed to handle this kind of vagueness, is used to represent and to aggregate the various linguistic data usually used in commercial banks. To illustrate the approach, numerical examples are solved and compared with existing approaches.     

Endometriosis,an unknown entity: the consumer's perspective

This paper reports the findings of a consumer‐driven investigation conducted by the Centre for Clinical Nursing Research at Epworth Hospital in conjunction with the Endometriosis Association (Victoria, Australia) aimed at identifying the information and support needs of women experiencing endometriosis. Women's experiences of endometriosis and laparoscopy were examined. A questionnaire was designed to explore women's experiences of, and informational need for, the four categories of: diagnosis of endometriosis, endometriosis, laparoscopy and managing at home. A total of 465 women who had a positive diagnosis of endometriosis, including patients at the Epworth Endometriosis Centre and members of the Endometriosis Association, were included. The data were analysed in terms of frequency of responses and themes that arose from the research. Five main themes consistently emerged from the overall analysis of the questionnaire; these included: lack of communication, no‐one listens, the emotional turmoil, expressions of gratitude to the Endometriosis Association and being young and helpless. Also identified was a lack of understanding of endometriosis and laparoscopy, on behalf of both the patient and the practitioner, which has led to communication of misinformation, extended physical pain and emotional distress. Based on these findings, recommendations were made for education strategies to be focused towards increasing awareness of endometriosis and for information to be disseminated using the preferred printed format and to be made available from gynaecologists, hospitals and schools. Through consumer participation, the information obtained in this study is of benefit to all women who come in contact with endometriosis by (a) validating women's experiences of endometriosis and (b) identifying women's needs in relation to the disease.