The acquisition of Florida Gas Company by The Continental Group

On August 28, 1979 1 the shareholders of Florida Gas Company approved an Agreement and Plan of Merger with The Continental Group, Inc. The acquisition of Florida Gas was the last step in a decade-long strategy initiated by Continental in the early 1970s. The Continental Group, Inc. began as Continental Can Company in 1904 with a small can plant in New York. Continental established its leadership in the canning industry and began to diversify into other forms of packaging. However, the company was still a concentrated canning concern in 1970, with more than 70 percent of earnings contributed by the can manufacturing operations and over half the company's total assets employed by this function. Today Continental is a diversified packaging company with substantial business interests in energy, natural resources, and financial services. Continental's operations are worldwide and are conducted through five operating groups: Continental Can Company, Continental Diversified Businesses, Continental Forest Industries, Continental Financial Services, and Continental Resources Company. The dramatic changes in the composition of Continental's contributions to earnings and assets and the much more diversified nature of its operations are the results of a strategy that was initiated in the early years of the seventies. The strategy was designed and implemented with the goal of positioning the company for the eighties to take advantage of new opportunities for growth and to adjust to a maturing domestic can market by diversifying and achieving more balanced operations. Prior to the acquisition by Continental, Florida Gas Company was a Florida corporation engaged in natural gas transmission, oil and gas exploration and development, hydrocarbons extraction, and real estate development. These operations were conducted by four wholly-owned subsidiaries. Early rumors of the possible acquisition of Florida Gas Company began to surface in March 1979, and on May 22, 1979, Florida Gas and Continental announced an agreement in principle. Subsequent to the approval of the Boards of Directors of both companies, the shareholders of Florida Gas approved the merger on August 28, 1979. The terms of the agreement provided that Florida Gas Company would be renamed Continental Resources Company and operate as a subsidiary of The Continental Group. The transaction was valued at $350 million, and each shareholder of Florida Gas received a$50 package of cash and Continental preferred stock per share of Florida Gas Common Stock. Substantial growth in the operations of Continental Resources Company, especially in oil and gas exploration and development, contributed to the earnings of The Continental Group in 1980 and were expected to be important in the future growth and profitability of Continental Group. The acquisition was concluded to have been a very advantageous investment for Continental Group as the company prepared to meet the challenges of the eighties. Continental had successfully implemented its decade-long strategy, and the acquisition of Florida Gas Company played a major role in providing diversification and growth potential for the New Continental--a company vastly different from Continental Can Company of 1970.Business Administratio

Sensuous intoxication:Learning from bodies in organisational ethnography

An increasing number of management articles have focused on embodied ethnography in terms of either understanding other bodies at work or how our own bodies as researchers inform knowledge. In advancing this latter approach, we argue for an embodiment that sensually intoxicates our bodies, enabling new forms of learning to emerge. To grow this understanding, we draw on Maurice Merleau-Ponty's concept 'le schéma corporel', a shared physiognomy of the senses. This concept informs a corporeal methodology which details three organisational depictions that emerge from a season long immersion in a professional rugby team. We illustrate how the Will was corporeally apprenticed in this setting through an understanding of the body as situated, emotional and physical. The article concludes by suggesting it is the researcher's own body that is the site of learning, providing a sense to the reader of the pain, touch and sound of professional rugby

Is Injury an Occupational Hazard for Horseracing Staff?

Occupational health is a key priority for the horseracing industry, yet little research on occupational injuries exists. This study investigated the prevalence and the effect of injury in British horseracing staff during a 12-month period. An online retrospective survey was answered by 352 participants, identifying self-reported injury prevalence, injury management practices and attitudes towards workplace injury reporting. Chi Squared tests for independence were undertaken. A total of 310 (88.1%) staff reported injuries; risk factors for injury type included self-perceived job security, working hours, and perceived job control. Physical limitations, loss of confidence, workplace changes, and lifestyle implications were reported as consequences of injury. A total of 75.3% (n = 134) of staff were likely to seek time-off following fractures, but only 48.6% (n = 86) would take time-off for concussion. Attitudes towards injury management were influenced by financial circumstances, perceived staff shortages, previous injury experiences, and perceived employer expectations. The high self-reported injury prevalence could result in decreased workforce efficiency, poor physical health, and negative implications on retention and career longevity. The perception of invisible injuries, i.e., concussion, and subsequent management, should be of immediate concern to racing organizations. This paper identifies recommendations to enhance the safety and wellbeing of horseracing staff

Arabidopsis mutants reveal that short- and long-term thermotolerance have different requirements for trienoic fatty acids

The photosynthetic thylakoid has the highest level of lipid unsaturation of any membrane. In Arabidopsis thaliana plants grown at 22°C, approximately 70% of the thylakoid fatty acids are trienoic – they have three double bonds. In Arabidopsis, and other species, the levels of trienoic fatty acids decline substantially at higher temperatures. Several genetic studies indicate that reduced unsaturation improves photosynthetic function and plant survival at high temperatures. Here, these studies are extended using the Arabidopsis triple mutant, fad3-2 fad7-2 fad8 that contains no detectable trienoic fatty acids. In the short-term, fluorescence analyses and electron-transport assays indicated that photosynthetic functions in this mutant are more thermotolerant than the wild type. However, long-term photosynthesis, growth, and survival of plants were all compromised in the triple mutant at high temperature. The fad3-2 fad7-2 fad8 mutant is deficient in jasmonate synthesis and this hormone has been shown to mediate some aspects of thermotolerance; however, additional experiments demonstrated that a lack of jasmonate was not a major factor in the death of triple-mutant plants at high temperature. The results indicate that long-term thermotolerance requires a basal level of trienoic fatty acids. Thus, the success of genetic and molecular approaches to increase thermotolerance by reducing membrane unsaturation will be limited by countervailing effects that compromise essential plant functions at elevated temperatures