PREFACE
Each year over the past decade the current CEPMLP Annual Review (CAR) has reached a stage where one tells oneself that the diversity of the contents and the standard of the papers submitted by students gaining top distinctions have peaked and surely cannot be improved upon any further. However, yet again the writer has been proved wrong.
The joint Co-editors-in-Chief for this Edition, Olayinka Obagun and Adebola Ogunlade have kept their fingers firmly on the thematic pulse to produce a yet more diverse range of topics than those covered in the previous reviews. The selected twenty themes covered in this issue continue to feature the pros and cons of ongoing key issues such as arbitration, advantages of developing the energy and natural resources industries towards promoting sustainable development, and aspects of power generation which have become critical cost wise as the price of crude oil explores new levels. In the current CAR issue we benefit from the insight of the stance adopted by the main contributors.
The writer believes that it is important at the outset to clear up any possible misconceptions that Chief Editorships perhaps may be viewed as a relatively easy academic alternative for obtaining credits towards a Masters Degree. On the contrary after working in close co-operation with the Editor/editor(s)- in- Chief for the past decade one can truly say that the role is in fact an exacting one that tests the incumbents to the limit in terms of academic knowledge, analytical capabilities, leadership and management skills and getting the best out of their advisory team of sub-editors as well as cajoling their at times prima-donnish star authors.
It has been the CEPMLP policy in recent years to encourage the Chief Editors to also submit papers for publication in the journal to demonstrate intellectual flairs as well as their abilities for sheer hard work and organisational skills. It is re-assuring to note that in every case their contributions were numbered amongst the very best of the annual crop!
As the Editors-in-Chief note in their current introduction and overview, CAR has expanded considerably this year to embrace additional management components such as Marketing, Project Management in Energy and Natural Resources Industries, Strategic Management and related issues such as Economics for Business Managers.
Current wisdom also picks up on ‘other changes in the wind’ which are gathering momentum. There seems to be a groundswell of nostalgia for ‘the good old days’ in which the UK prospered on the strength of our industrial engineering skills which we seem to have conceded in favour of our less predictable reliance on so called invisibles and banking. This also could prove a fertile field for further contributions in future.
In particular the ‘show casing role’ of the Editorial board is well executed and the traditional pro-active approach which characterises the CAR profile is not only maintained but has expanded further into new areas.
The focus of the processes to mitigate and control as far as possible the depredations caused by climate change again emerges as a key issue. Also to the fore are land use conflicts involving Indigenous Peoples rights and also environmental and social issues which comprise the themes addressed in nine of the contributions to the current CAR. Another emerging key theme that falls within this category is gaining sustainable advantage in the context of teamwork. It is interesting to note that there seems to be a shift in emphasis in the latter context towards a team comprising individuals with specialist in depth skills rather than all rounders. Translated into practical terms this change appears to put a premium on the skills bestowed through Masters Degrees.
Just as the atomic industry was beginning to shrug off the shadow of Chernobyl and confidence started to return to the industry the Tsunami disaster in Japan has involved the damaging of a nuclear reactor in the Tokyo area. It is to be fervently hoped that that the damage will not lead to a radio-active leak. Otherwise atomic energy upon which many are pinning their hopes as a prominent component in the fuel mix may have to be heavily discounted. If this situation eventuates it will undoubtedly feature in next year’s CAR!
Looking ahead to the potential ultimate dominance of gas from shale as the dominant future leading energy commodity on account of its less emphatic footprint compared to other hydrocarbons it really does seem that the key players will finally take this on board. That is provided a viable solution cannot be found for the sequestration of GHG’s from coal fired energy plants.
The strong emphasis on energy related issues underscores international preoccupation over the future of the energy mix particularly in the light of the present public concerns over the exorbitant current price of crude oil. This has certainly re-vitalised research into alternative sources of fuel.
With the publication of the largest number of papers to date in our CAR journal including a range of new topics for the first time the writer is confident that the readership will be spoilt for choice. The Co-Editors in Chief, their team of experts and all the student authors deserve warm congratulations on putting together the most diverse topic wise CAR to date which was no mean achievement.
Dr Arthur J. Warden
Co-ordinator