The choice of insider or outsider top executives in acquired companies

There is considerable debate amongst academics and practitioners over whether top executives of acquired or merged companies should stay or go, post-deal, as studies exploring the link with organisational performance show mixed results. This may in part be due to such studies failing to recognise that there are a number of distinct post-acquisition strategies which may require the deployment of different types of top executive. This paper addresses this limitation by bringing together the longstanding Insider/Outsider debate with a post-acquisition integration framework, in order to investigate whether there is a link between top management type and post-acquisition integration strategy. Using a dual methodology of survey and cases drawing on UK M&A data, clear associations are found between top executive type and particular post-acquisition styles. Underlying these patterns, the value-creating/value-capturing distinction of the Resource-Based View appears to have a greater influence over top executive deployment than do issues of Organisational Fit. This suggests strategic intentions have ascendancy over organisational constraints in the selection of top executives for managing post-acquisition integration

Chalk cliff retreat in East Sussex and Kent 1870s to 2001

The retreat of chalk cliffs fringing the eastern English Channel contributes shingle to the beaches which helps to protect the cliffs and slow down erosion. Conversely, cliff retreat endangers settlements and infrastructure on the clifftop. Rates of retreat have been calculated by a variety of methods over the past century, but no attempt has been made to provide a complete coverage that allows for a true comparison of retreat rates over the entire coastline. Using historic maps and recent orthophotos, cliff retreat rates have been calculated for consecutive 50 m sections of chalk cliff along the English side of the entire eastern English Channel for a period of 125 years. The chalk cliffs of East Sussex erode at an average rate of 0.25 - 0.3 m y−1 while those in Kent at a rate of 0.1 m y−1

Book Review: Thinking About Art

Book review for Thinking About Art, Edmund Burke Feldman, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1985

Christianity: A Cultural Perspective

Reviewed Book: Elwood, Robert S. Christianity: A Cultural Perspective. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988. Prentice-Hall series in world religions; 7

Modelling failure mechanisms of soft cliff profiles

A large proportion of the 11,000 km coastline of the United Kingdom is backed by soft cliffs. These cliffs are subject to frequent slumping and landslip events, particularly where sea and ground water percolates into the soil and rock. Many of these cliffs are formed from glaciogenic sediments, which experience severe erosion and rapid recession with long-term horizontal recession rates typically up to 2-3 m/year. A series of scaled physical model tests have been conducted using a large centrifuge facility with two-dimensional cliff models. These were tested in a wave flume container located on the centrifuge. Wave loading was created using a quasi-flap paddle system that was located at the opposite end of the centrifuge box. A number of tests were conducted using different cliff materials (i.e. combinations of sand and Portland cement). A parametric study was carried out to assess the influence of variations in cliff geometry and height, soil properties, wave amplitude and period. From these tests, it has been found that generally, failures occurred by progressive undercutting of the cliff toe, followed by global failure of the cliff mass

Reviews

Authoring‐Systems Software for Computer‐Based Training, edited by William D. Wilheim, Educational Technology Publications, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA, ISBN: 0–87778–274–1, 1994

Monitoring of Plant Species and Communities on Coastal Cliffs: Is the Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Suitable?

Cliffs are reservoirs of biodiversity; therefore, many plant species and communities of inland and coastal cliffs are protected by Council Directive 92/43/EEC (European Economic Community), and their monitoring is mandatory in European Union countries. Surveying plants on coastal cliff by traditional methods is challenging and alternatives are needed. We tested the use of a small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) as an alternative survey tool, gathering aerial images of cliffs at Palinuro Cape (Southern Italy). Four photo-interpreters analysed independently the derived orthomosaic and plotted data needed for the monitoring activity. Data showed to be not affected by photo-interpreters and reliable for the prescribed monitoring in the European Union (EU). Using the GIS analysis tools, we were able to: (a) recognise and map the plant species, (b) derive and measure the area of distribution on the cliff of habitat and species, and (c) count Eokochia saxicola individuals and gather quantitative data on their projected area. Quality of the images represented the main constraint, but incoming technological improvements of sensors and UAVs may overcome this problem. Overall results support the use of UAVs as an affordable and fast survey technique that can rapidly increase the number of studies on cliff habitats and improve ecological knowledge on their plant species and communitie

<i>Aloe cremnophila</i> and <i>Aloe jacksonii</i> - cliff-dwellers from the Horn of Africa.

Aloe cremnophila and A. jacksonii are described and illustrated as obligate cremnophytes, namely plants that only grow on cliffs. A. cremnophila is endemic to Somalia, whilst A. jacksonii comes from the Ogaden in Ethiopia