Transition towards and of sustainability—Understanding sustainability as performative

Our purpose is to explore the concept of “sustainability” when understood from a performative perspective, i.e. as a concept that is filled with meaning across time. Drawing on a 10 year-long study of the digital footprint of Stockholm Royal Seaport, claimed to be northern Europe's largest sustainable urban development district, we show that “sustainability” emerged as the project became associated with particular places, projects, histories, and technologies. This means that “sustainability” was local in that it was situated in the particular spatial context of the project; temporal in that it was situated in a particular time; and political in that it expressed particular values and perspectives. The study contributes to explaining why “sustainability” remains—and always will remain—a contested concept, which is why sustainability transitions are complex. Consequently, we suggest that the transition towards sustainability always involves the transition of sustainability, something that needs to be acknowledged in order for a transition to actually become sustainable.     

Mechanisms for controlling expenditure in the Spanish Royal Household, c.1561-c.18081

The purpose of this article is to examine the accounting and auditing in the Spanish Royal Household between 1561 and 1808. The Royal Household was the third most important item of expenditure that the State Treasury financed, after the Army and Navy and the National Debt. On studying spending control in the Royal Household, we have rejected the idea, often advanced by historiography, that there was no spending control within this institution. On the contrary, treasurers and accountants were only able to release funds for expenditure purposes on the basis of prior authorization. However, the efficiency of spending control was very limited due to technical, administrative and, above all, social and political elements.     

Financial acumen, women speculators, and the Royal African company during the South Sea bubble

Price bubbles provide a unique opportunity to study the financial acumen of shareholders. We focus on the 1720 South Sea episode as experienced by the Royal African Company whose stock was more speculative than other joint stocks. During 1720 the company had a new large stock issue. This paper examines the financial acumen of those women who traded senior and engrafted stock across 1720. We find that depending on the pricing regime, these women at worst broke even on their activities or had positive speculative gains. Our findings are consistent with a growing literature on the positive link between gender, capital gains and financial markets.     

Determining farm effects attributable to the introduction and use of a dairy management information system in The Netherlands

Yearly production and reproduction data on dairy farms in The Netherlands were obtained to determine whether management information systems significantly improved herd performance variables (management information systems (MIS) effects). The analysis included 357 adopters of a management information system and 357 herds were used as controls. The data comprised years 1987 through 1996, and included for the adopters both the ‘before’ and ‘after’ period. Panel data analysis enabled to estimate MIS effects both within and between farms, allowing for a separation of farm‐specific effects and common (trend) effects. Adoption and use of a management information system resulted in a significant annual increase in rolling herd average milk (carrier) and protein production of 62 and 2.36 kg per cow, respectively. Calving interval was shortened by 5 days. The pay‐back period was approximately 5 years of the system (including the hardware), and therefore, MIS appears to be economically profitable.     

THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS AND SUPPLY‐SIDE ECONOMICS

The coalition has given the Liberal Democrats the opportunity to demonstrate their support for – or opposition to – supply‐side economics. The person who has done most on the supply side is Ed Davey, in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. In a remarkable legislative achievement for a Parliamentary Under Secretary in under two years in office, Davey ensured that the privatisation of Royal Mail reached the statute books, liberalised the terms and conditions for Post Office counters, and liberalised employment and retirement laws.     

刍议企业精准营销工具的选择

随着精准营销在我国的发展，种类繁多的精准营销工具不断出现。企业在精确的市场细分和市场定位的前提下，如何选择适合企业实际情况的营销工具，是企业实施精准营销活动的重要环节。     

Keynes and Sraffa's 'Difficulties with J. H. Hollander'

The paper reports on Jacob H. Hollander's cooperation with John Maynard Keynes and Piero Sraffa in the preparation of the latter's edition of The Works and Correspondence of David Ricardo. The report is based on archive material from various sources, including the unpublished papers of Edwin Cannan, Piero Sraffa, Jacob H. Hollander, John Maynard Keynes, and Jacob Viner, and the archive of the Royal Economic Society. The archive material consulted by us shows that, put mildly, Jacob H. Hollander did not promote Sraffa's editorial project: he held back material which he had received from Frank Ricardo and did not disclose to Sraffa that he owned several important letters which he had privately purchased. Moreover, Sraffa was refused access to Ricardiana even after he had traced them down in laborious detective work to be in Hollander's possession. Hollander's unwillingness to cooperate with Sraffa considerably delayed the publication of the Ricardo edition.     

新西兰重振经济过程中科技管理体制调整

近年来，新西兰政府对于科技体制的调整值得关注。重点对2012年7月成立的商业、创新与就业部的职能进行了介绍，并分析其成立的背景及科技投入情况。新机构的职能是支持新西兰人才、创新和企业发展；为企业提供更好的发展环境和前景；改善政府与企业的关系。此外，简要介绍了新西兰皇家研究所与新西兰风险投资基金的企业化运作情况，以及政府统筹创新链上中下游的一个典型案例。新西兰重振经济对科技管理体制的调整经验、皇家研究所的企业化运作模式以及组建先进技术研究院的做法，对我国科技体制改革有一定借鉴意义。     

‘Therapy of the Green Leaf’: Public Responses to the Provision of Forest and Woodland Recreation in Twentieth Century Britain

This paper examines the largely unexplored formative years in the development of forest and woodland recreation in Britain during the twentieth century, with a particular focus from 1940 to 1970, when many of the institutional and infrastructural developments were made by both public and private sectors, laying the foundations for modern mass recreation. The paper is founded on archival research in public and private archival holdings. It makes a plea for greater recognition of the value of understanding the past, as contemporary policy makers plan for a sustainable future for British woods and forests. The paper reveals how the current balance required between the demands of people and nature is nothing new; it has a rich and complex history. The paper notes that after decades of public interest in forest and woodland recreation, public values and preferences are now being pushed to the fore in woodland management issues. How much public opinion will shape the sustainable future of our forests remains a controversial question.     

Business on trial: The tobacco securities trust and the 1935 pepper debacle

The prosecution and imprisonment of Lord Kylsant in 1931, following the collapse of the Royal Mail Shipping Group, has long been acknowledged as a landmark event in the history of financial accounting. Far less attention has been given to the equally high profile conviction and imprisonment of three businessmen four years later in the wake of the notorious pepper scandal. This article examines the background to the scandal, particularly the role played by an investment vehicle called the Tobacco Securities Trust, and compares the subsequent trial and conviction to that of the Royal Mail case. The findings of the article serve to endorse studies by accounting historians arguing that Britain's legal environment played a critical role in promoting improvements in the financial disclosure policies evidenced amongst leading British companies during the second quarter of the twentieth century.