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This section of the periodical The Accounting Review is devoted to matters of particular interest to accounting instructors. What is the value or usefulness of academic writing? There are probably few words that create as much difficulty and disagreement as the word "value." As a group, accountants are pragmatists (i.e. if it is useful and works, it is good; if it is not useful or does not work, it is not good); therefore, useful could be substituted for "Value." Now to rephrase the question into two parts: Is writing by the academician useful to him? Is writing by the academician useful to the reader? Each of these questions can be broken into two parts what the writer or reader thinks he will get out of a particular article and what in fact he actually does get out of it. This paper will attempt to give a preliminary answer to one part of the questions raised. It will try to say what the academic writer think he wilt get out of publishing an article. To attempt to answer this question a survey was made asking why teachers of accounting write articles.

The author muses on the goals of academic papers on management issues that might comprise future distinct sections of the periodical "Management Science." He calls for close observation of real-world practice, with particular attention to such social-science aspects as the role of social relationships in management and the investigation of management science concepts in a social environment.

This article congratulates Professor Frank Albert Fetter of Princeton University on his eightieth birthday in 1943. Fetter was born in the Hoosier State in the town of Peru, Indiana on March 8, 1863. For eight years he successfully conducted a book store in his home town and then returned to university for his senior year, receiving the degree of bachelor of arts in 1891. It was from Halle, Germany that in 1894 he received his doctor of philosophy. His dissertation dealt with the theory of population. Nine American institutions have had the benefit of Fetter's services as a scholar and teacher, four on the basis of regular faculty membership, five on the basis of appointment as a visiting professor or lecturer. He has been since 1935 a member of the American Philosophical Society, for three years has served as member of its council, and is at present time an active member of its Committee on Research. The theoretical foundation of his opposition to the basing-point system was set forth in the 1924 issue of the Quarterly Journal of Economics under the title, The Economic Law of Market Areas. A firm believer in the public schools, he served in Princeton from 1924 to 1928 as an active member, for a while as vice-president, of the board of education.

The basic requirement of every academic editor is that each article be a scholarly contribution to knowledge of the field. Contributions in an academic journal may be made by recognizing new problems of the field and suggesting possible solutions. Opportunities for contributions comes when new techniques are devised or become available for the solution of old problems, or when some new programs or new thoughts not always forthcoming as promptly to avoid a new problem. Another type of scholarly contribution may be made in the form of historical analyses. Another dubious candidate for scholarly effort is the voluminous compendium of what others have said on a subject with no adequate or new criticism or evaluation. Manuscripts submitted by authors usually go to the printer in the case of an academic journal, so it should be clear and readable to the editor also. Editor's do have obligations, therefore, a broad view of the possible forms of scholarly contribution is also needed by the editor of a scholarly journal, certainly if the journal is designed for a fairly large and diversified audience.

The article presents a comment on "Developing a Comprehensive Model of Motivation and Performance," by Kae H. Chung which appeared in the March 1968 issue of "The Academy of Management Journal." The author takes issue with Dr. Chung's methodology, as the author finds that Chung limited himself to univariate statistics for analysis. The article breaks down the methodology that Chung used and offers suggestions as to what worked and what did not. The author applauds Chung for building a multivariate model of motivation and performance and suggests a possible formulation for analysis of Performance, Ability, and Needs.

The author reflects on the issues concerning the work relations between the officials of international affairs and academic community. He asserted that a problem of mutual incomprehensibility has emerged between the government and social sciences. Projects wherein the government and academic community collaborated are provided. In fact, the government has undertaken some initiatives to encourage scholars and government officials to collaborate. The sensitive problems emerging from the use of scholarly research by the government are discussed.

These thoughts were prompted by Colonel Urwick's reaction to the following recent Academy of Management Journal articles: a. "Technology and Organizational Government: A Speculative Enquiry into the Functionality of Management Creeds" by William G. Scott (Sept., 1968). b. Comment on above by Keith Davis (Dec, 1968). c. "Success of Chain of Command Oral Communication in a Manufacturing Group" by Keith Davis (Dec, 1968). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article gives credit to Doctor J. M. Rice and his academic papers on educational reform and school management published in the "Journal of Education". The lack of perspective as well as the injustice in these papers caused educators and public school administrators to denounce them at first, and then forget them later. None of the individuals and communities he degraded were harmed in the long run.

The author comments on the article "The Influence of Setup Time on Job Shop Performance," by J. K. Wilbrecht and W. B. Prescott, published in the December, 1969 issue. The author asserts that Wilbrecht and Prescott mischaracterized machine setup operations in job shops. The author explains that setting up manufacturing equipment for a new job may involve dismantling the old setup as well as setting up for a new job, so time for both aspects should be accounted for. Other times, the changeoever is simpler and faster. The author also suggests that other aspects of the article do not reflect real-world conditions.

The article presents an opinion on F. Darwin Smith's academic paper about the metric system, published in the February 18, 1926 issue of the scholarly "Journal of Education". The introduction of the metric system in public schools would free school children from the difficulties of learning the existing American system of weights and measures.

The article explains that the April 1916 issue of the scholarly "Journal of Ophthalmology, Otology and Laryngology" is devoted to a "Symposium on Speech, Voice, and Hygiene of the Vocal Tract". Articles include "The Relation of Mouth Formation to Voice and Speech", "The Natural Method of Voice Production," and a paper on the work of the Committee on American Speech.

This section presents an update on news related to the field of family life education in the U.S. as of August 1942. Crowell Publishing Company is publishing The Sociology of the Family, by Ruth Shonle Cavan. Florence Clother, in an article summing up the significant literature on placing the child for adoption, points out that where the psycho-sexual development of the child has been frequently interrupted by changes of environment, his resulting limited capacity for identification with love objects makes him less able to form the emotional relationships necessary for healthy social development. Management in Family Living, a recent Wiley publication by Paulena Nickell of Iowa State College, and Jean Muir Dorsey, formerly of the University of Minnesota. This book, written at the college level, is designed to give practical instruction in home management. Ray D. Sowers, formerly dean of students, Florida Southern College, and secretary of the Conference on the Conservation of Marriage and the Family, is now state supervisor, National Citizenship Educational Program for the Florida Federal Works Agency. Marie P. Warner presented a paper entitled The Premarital Medical Consultation before the New York State Medical Society, meeting at its annual convention in New York City, April 29, 1942.

The article discusses the issues related to the approval of a grant application for academic research. Each grant application is examined by reviewers who are familiar with the proposed research area. Outside reviewers may also be requested to evaluate the application. The past record and accomplishments of the principal investigator should be made obvious to indicate that he is the origin of the research ideas. Aside from budget considerations, the methods of procedure are examined to determine the ability of the investigator to design a crucial experiment.

In an effort to indicate how sociologists compare with selected other scientists and professionals in the writing of articles for the popular press, the author gathered data from several magazines. All issues of the 1960, 1965, and 1970 volumes of Life, Ladies Home Journal, Reader's Digest, and Science Digest were examined for popular articles on sociology, psychology, and medicine. The criteria for classifying articles were: are the major variables that are explained, analyzed, discussed, or pointed out in the article primarily of a social, psychological, or medical/biological nature? Insofar as possible, using the description of the author furnished by the magazine or using professional membership lists, each author was classified either as a professional or as a nonprofessional in the field about which he wrote. Data suggest that sociologists are somewhat more reluctant than psychologists to write for popular publications and much more reluctant to do so than are physicians and medical researchers. Only 1 percent of the articles on sociological matters was written by sociologists, while psychologists contributed 23 percent of the articles on psychological topics. The more service-oriented medical profession wrote 33 percent of the medical articles.

This article presents information on various Czechoslovak journals in which article articles on sociology were published. These include "Sociologické Revue," "Národnostni Obzor" and "Moderni Stát."

This article presents information on several French journals in which articles on sociology were published. Journals mentioned include "Journal de la Société de Statistique de Paris," "Journal des Economistes," "Revue d'Economie Politique," "Revue de Metaphysique et de Morale," "Revue du Droit Publique et de la Science Politique," "Revue des Sciences Politiques," "Revue Internationale de Sociologie," "Revue Générale de Droit International Public," and "Revue Philosophique."