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In the first part of this chapter we present some general aspects of qualitative research, its methods and pitfalls. The second part is focused on the appraisal of papers on qualitative research.

It is not easy to find a common theme in five papers that present a rich analysis of the international monetary system. Let me try though, by presenting a story of the main changes and challenges that we are likely to face in the future international monetary system. I will then use that story to make links with the five papers, thereby also demonstrating that I read the papers.

This is a very nice and interesting paper which reviews and sets out the rationales for investing in emerging markets, the experiences with investing in emerging market equities over the last few years, and draws some lessons from the experience in December 1994 in Mexico. The issues raised by the authors are indeed the important ones, for investors as well as policy makers in emerging markets. At the same time, this is a difficult paper to comment on: one is more likely to disagree with the tone of its conclusions than with any of the issues raised or the analysis done.

Office settings in the 21st Century will undoubtedly take on a different character from what we see today. The development of computer and telecommunications equipment over the past four decades allows almost unlimited options for organizations in creating new working arrangements. The predominant use of paper as the media for recording, storing and transmitting information is now giving way to new electronic forms. Not only is information technology providing faster access to, and easier routing of documents, it is enabling new approaches, such as workflow mapping, task sequence optimization and flexible worker scheduling. These innovations are likely to dramatically change the nature of work. Yet, current trends are paradoxical — the paper industry reports record use of its parchment as managers and workers wonder they improve work in a new electronic world.

The word paper is derived from papyrus, a sheet made in ancient times by pressing together very thin strips of an Egyptian reed, cyperus papyrus. The modern material, paper, consists of sheet materials that are comprised of bonded, flexible, cellulose fibers which, while very short, 0.5–4 mm, are about 100 times as long as they are wide. Small particle fillers or pigments, in the form of clays or other inorganic materials are used to give paper improved properties, e.g. opacity, brightness and printability, or to improve the economics of the papermaking process. In this chapter we will focus on the use of small particles as process aids to improve retention and dewatering on paper machines.

The problem of balancing coherence and flexibility in collaborative information system design is approached here with two pairs of concepts. Boundary objects can support communication for perspective taking between communities of practice. Conscripting devices can support communication for perspective making within a community of practice. These theoretical lenses are used to study the uses of the technical specification in paper machine projects. Our study showed that as a boundary object it provided enough flexibility to allow negotiations, and sufficient local structure, for carrying out work in both communities of practice, the customer and the manufacturer. As a conscription device in the relatively virtual manufacturer project team, however, it proved to be problematic, due to the unidirectional nature of its construction, its diminishing importance in the web of conscripting objects, and its inconvenience as a means for learning. In search for balancing coherence and flexibility, the issues identified seemed to relate to acknowledging the dialectics of perspective making and perspective taking with boundary objects and conscription devices, to the openness and modifiability of these objects, and to the bounded transparency of these processes.

Let me start with a broad discussion on the general topic of the conference, which is “ideas for the future of the international monetary system,” and then come to a more focused discussion of the euro and the European Central Bank (ECB). I will discuss the papers as I go along, drawing on their results to emphasize my points. I would also like occasionally to refer to the Nordic and Asian crises.

Studies on aetiology are typically designed to establish links between determinants and outcomes. We have also included in this group studies that describe iatrogenic or harmful effects of medical interventions.

Studies on prognosis are characterised by observations of different outcomes of a disorder. They are focused on the spectrum of severity, on a certain stage of a disorder, etc. Their results are used in practice to predict future disease events.

This chapter presents further issues on the validity, importance and usefulness of studies about diagnostic tools, including screening methods. These topics complement the discussion on measurement instruments presented in chapter 4.

In this chapter we discuss some issues about the validity, importance and usefulness of studies on treatment. Here, we work with a broad concept of treatment that is inclusive of primary, secondary and tertiary preventive interventions.

The remit of Working Group 8.2 (WG 8.2) is officially identified by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) as “the interaction of information systems and the organization” and its “Scope and Aims” statement (http://www.ifipwg82.org/) talks of “building theories about the role and impact of IT in specific organizational contexts.” Thus, while WG 8.2 may not be the only group of IS researchers concerned with understanding the relationship between social context and the development and use of information systems, for example, WG 8.1 (“Design and Evaluation of Information Systems”) and WG 9.1 (“Computers and Work”) may be expected to share similar interests, the Group would seem a potentially important forum for research that seeks to address the social dimension of IS. To the extent, moreover, that interest in social context may be seen to be characteristic of the concerns of interpretative research methods, the growing acceptance of such methods in mainstream journals such as MIS Quarterly could be seen to place WG 8.2 in the vanguard of the IS field.

The value of a set of future cash flows (valuation) can serve many purposes, including the allocation of scarce resources, determination of the price at which a product will be offered (often supplemented with relevant information concerning the market or vice versa), and the estimation of the value of assets, obligations, or companies. The objective of such a valuation is to determine, to the extent possible, the economic value of one or more sets of cash flows or the relative economic differences between the value of alternate sets of estimated cash flows. Such valuations are particularly important in actuarial practice.

Audit consists of the systematic gathering and analysing of information about the effects of current practice that might be used in the future development of higher quality practice. This chapter presents a brief account of some concepts of audit, and of the appraisal of its validity, importance and usefulness.

Guidelines can have a strong influence in clinical decision-making and clinical practice. Because of their potential effect on practice behaviour, the information presented in guidelines must be rigorously evaluated.