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The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of effective, knowledgeable and accountable management and board structures in business organisations. Using the case of Swissair, the paper aims to demonstrate the importance of competent industry knowledgeable executive boards, with regard not only to company profits and sustainability but also to stability and socially responsible decision making.

An explanatory and descriptive case study approach was undertaken utilising historical data and literature‐based information and research on Swissair. The analysis of the case is guided by the use of the Resource Dependence and Group Conformity theories.

The findings suggest that the alliance and acquisition strategy pursued by Swissair's management and the lack of leadership and accountability by the CEO and Chairman of the board were the main contributing factors to the company's collapse.

The implications include impacts on the way in which European organisations are governed and the composition of the management teams and Board of Directors. Additional implications include changes to the legislation in Europe, more specifically Switzerland and the European Free Trade Alliance, aimed at the prevention of similar future collapses.

The paper's originality stems from the application of decision making and group theory, coupled with corporate governance ideas applied in a practical sense to the contemporary case of Swissair in a manner previously not considered, to demonstrate the importance of effective, knowledgeable and accountable management and board structures in organisations. Value is demonstrated with the recent issues experienced by Austrian Airlines and its subsequent acquisition by Lufthansa, indicating a need to address the corporate governance requirements in the European airline industry.

THIS DOES NOT PURPORT TO BE an apologia for the old guard‐book style name‐catalogue, but, forgetting mere canons of stream‐lined efficiency, let us admit that there is some character, some romantic appeal about it that a card catalogue cannot rival. Cards just haven't got personality or colour: they are unitary and strictly functional, a jumble of unconnected parts without a common link to make them a homogeneous entity. The guard‐book catalogue, for all its problems of maintenance and often cumbersome inefficiency, does, I contend, make life more interesting for the cataloguer—and the imaginative user.

During this month the average librarian is given furiously to think over the estimates, and in this year, perhaps more than any other, will that adverb be applicable. The matter is so important that we do not apologise for dealing with it once more. In March in nearly every town there will be a determined effort by men who call themselves “economists” to reduce the appropriation for public libraries. The war is the most handsome excuse that the opponents of public culture have ever had for their attacks upon the library movement. It is obvious that these attacks will take the direction of an endeavour to reduce the penny rate, where this has not been done already. In the year that has passed retrenchment has been the watchword of all municipal work, and many librarians have either ceased to buy new books or have bought only those of vital importance. This has meant that a certain amount of money usually devoted to books has accumulated. Seeing that legally money which has been raised for library purposes cannot be expended in any other direction, the only way in which the “economists” can work is to propose a reduction of next year's rate by an amount corresponding to the balance. It is an extraordinary thing that after decades of demonstration the average local public man cannot or will not see that money taken from the funds of a public library cannot be restored to it later. The limitation of the penny rate is nearly always forgotten or ignored, and the common phrase of such men: “You must economise now and we will give you more money after the war,” has been heard by most librarians. An endeavour should be made to drive home the fact that retrenchment in books, or in other matters in connexion with libraries, now means so much actual irreparable loss to the libraries. We have dealt several times in these pages with the vexed question of balances. Practice differs so much in different localities that it seems impossible to get any universal ruling in connexion with this matter. Many libraries have been able to invest their balances in some form of war loan ; in others the librarian has been told emphatically that such investment is illegal. We can speak of towns within five miles of each other in one of which money has been invested, and in the other investment is banned in this way. Unfortunately librarians have been rather silent upon this point, and it is difficult to obtain any reliable information as to how many towns have investments. It would strengthen the hands of many librarians if they knew that in so many other municipalities the library funds were so invested.

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.

The purpose of this research was threefold, including to provide a four-point rationale for teaching corporate crisis management as a module within a course on ethical decision-making in business and organizations; to provide evaluative data supporting this approach; and to highlight the implications of this approach for human resource development and training.

Thirty-four undergraduates in a required course on ethical decision-making in business and organizations completed pre- and post-course assignments assessing their knowledge about crisis/management, as well as their skills in crisis recognition, evaluation and action planning. Participants also completed a survey on their perceptions of the crisis management module and its placement within the ethics course.

Statistical analyses demonstrated significant knowledge acquisition on crisis/management; significant skill development on crisis recognition, evaluation and action planning; and significantly greater “true positives” and significantly fewer “false negatives” in post-course identification of crisis warning signs. Perceptions of the crisis management module and its placement within the course on ethical decision-making were positive.

Although the sample size was relatively small, small samples are associated with a greater risk of failing to detect an effect that is present, rather than the greater predicament of erroneously concluding that an absent effect is actually present. This information, coupled with the fact that the results demonstrated not only statistical significance but also large effect sizes using Cohen’s d, inspires confidence. Nonetheless, additional assessment with larger samples would allow for the possibility of convergent evidence. Similarly, additional assessment within different organizational contexts, including applications in human resource training and development is warranted. Future research should also include assessment of specific underlying teaching strategies and evaluation of whether certain models are associated with greater learning on a broader range of crisis management skills.

Programs in business ethics education and training comprise one useful context in which to teach corporate crisis management. The program specified here addresses two training needs previously specified in the human resource development (HRD) literature on crisis management, including identifying specific methods of enhancing recognition or detection of crisis warning signs and also of providing tools and enhancing skills for assessing and containing crisis.

Despite the centrality of both ethics and HRD to crisis management, there has been a dearth of research on whether ethics education is a useful context through which to teach this topic. This research addresses this dearth and suggests new avenues for HRD in this respect.

The “brand community” concept believes that the meaning of the brand transcends national boundaries. However, such an assumption presents challenges arising out of several reasons including co‐existence of sub‐tribes within a given brand community that allocate different meanings to a particular brand. This plurality of meanings seems exacerbated for global brands where meanings are shaped by tremendously varying cultures. Aims to address the issues.

This text relies on a comparative study of the meanings attributed to one particular global brand, Warhammer, by the members of its brand community in France and the USA.

Findings highlight the elements of homogeneity and heterogeneity that reside in the cross‐border meanings of the brand. The authors also discuss the marketplace relevance arising out of this plurality that should be taken into account by global marketers.

The present text argues that community attached to a global brand constitutes a complex phenomenon, one that both integrates and ignores geographical considerations.

Employing brief, low-intensity, face-to-face parenting programs can result in improvements in parenting and child behavior; however, their usefulness is often limited by low participation rates. Online technologies are increasingly presented as a panacea for promoting program reach in a cost-effective way. The extant literature, however, provides limited guidance on issues around the implementation of online parenting programs. Grow is a universal, health-promoting parenting program that targets families with 5–10 year olds and was developed for face-to-face delivery and then adapted for a web-based format. The purpose of this paper is to present implementation results from feasibility proof of concept studies of Grow Face-to-Face and Grow Online and explores issues regarding mode of delivery and parent participation.

Data were gathered from participants using attendance records, end-of-module/session surveys and semi-structured, in-depth interviews, and were examined using descriptive statistics and inductive thematic analysis.

Findings suggest that, compared to the online implementation, recruitment was more difficult for the face-to-face implementation. Conversely, retention in the online program was poorer than in the face-to-face program. Participants from both programs self-reported high levels of engagement and satisfaction. Parents who completed Grow Online expressed a desire for more interpersonal interactions, which suggests a possible need for hybrid programs that combine online technologies with traditional face-to-face modes of delivery.

These findings challenge the idea that the internet can fully address barriers to parenting program participation by showing that while parents may sign up more readily for an online program, they may struggle to complete all modules. This is problematic as program dosage can influence parent and child outcomes.

Digitally delivered, parent-focused interventions (DD-PFIs) are viewed as an important method for supporting child well-being. Few DD-PFIs include health-promotion and general-parenting content, and only some are intended for a universal audience. The purpose of this paper is to focus on a preliminary evaluation of Grow Online, which was designed to address this gap.

A mixed-methods design, including pretests and posttests and semi-structured interviews, was employed to evaluate program feasibility and demonstrate proof of concept.

Feasibility findings were favorable, which indicates participants were satisfied with the program, liked the main program features, found the content helpful and had a positive experience using the website. Initial recruitment was strong, and engagement with the sessions was high; however, retention was poor with a 73.5 percent attrition rate. Significant pre- to post-changes were found on measures of over-reactive discipline, parenting efficacy, emotion coaching, coping socialization, child physical activity support, rewarding eating and child externalizing and internalizing behaviors.

Study design and high attrition limit the ability to infer causality and generalize beyond the sample.

Providing support to parents through a universal health-promoting DD-PFI is viable, though issues involving retention need to be given full consideration.

Parents use of technology to access child care information is increasing, but most information online is not evidence-informed. Grow Online fills an important gap in the research and practice of DD-PFIs, and this study’s findings suggest a more rigorous evaluation is merited.

Examines the Biblical positions concerning humankind’s relationship to nature. The Biblical ecological system is a hierarchical system with human beings at the pinnical of nature and the animal and vegetative worlds below to serve humans. The same hierarchical structure prevails in human relations. Reviews the all‐embracing principal “Do not wantonly destroy”, which encompasses both humans and animals. Provides a Biblical perspective on environmental regulations Suggests that environmental agencies should focus less on rules and much more on prudential judgement. Regulatory activities should then require a balancing of benefits and costs.