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This paper aims to examine the Victorian attitude to the poor by focussing on the health care provided at a large provincial hospital, the Newcastle Infirmary.

The archives of the Newcastle Infirmary are reviewed alongside the local trade directories. These primary sources are examined in conjunction with the writings of contemporary social theorists on poverty.

At a time when poverty was seen as a sin, an act against God, it would be easy to assume that the Victorians faced no moral dilemma in dismissing the poor, particularly what were seen as the “undeserving poor”, out of hand. Yet, the paper observes how accounting was used both to persuade the wealthier citizens to contribute funds and to enable the hospital to exercise compassion in treating paupers despite this being prohibited under the hospital's rules. Such a policy conflicted with the dominant utilitarian view of society, which emphasised the twin pillars of economic expediency and self‐help.

More case studies are needed of other hospitals to ascertain how typical the Newcastle Infirmary was of the voluntary hospital sector as a whole.

Although many histories of British hospitals exist and some have examined how accounting was used to manage within these institutions, the concern has not been with accounting as a moral practice.

This paper examines the nature and function of cost accounting at the Newcastle Infirmary, a large voluntary provincial hospital, established in 1751. In particular, the paper adds to the literature on accounting within early voluntary hospitals by identifying the relative contributions of the costing system to planning and controlling the operations, assisting decision making and holding managers accountable for their performance.

The paper relies primarily on original documents preserved in the archives of the Newcastle Infirmary.

Although evidence was found of quite sophisticated costing systems, the findings suggest that the majority of the information was produced ex post by the hospital management to demonstrate good stewardship and to engender financial support.

More cases are needed of other hospitals to ascertain how typical the Newcastle Infirmary was of the voluntary hospital sector in the nineteenth century.

Although there are other studies of accounting within British voluntary hospitals, and studies of the use of accounting to drive decision making in profit-making organisations during the nineteenth century, none have investigated the use of accounting as a decision-making tool in a voluntary hospital.

The purpose of this paper is to explain and demonstrate the importance and usefulness of mixing qualitative and quantitative approaches in participatory residential sustainability policy and practice.

The approach uses a theoretical model, developed through engagements with cultural and political sociology, to inform participatory engagement in selecting “indicators” of urban residential sustainability.

If they are to influence policy and practice effectively, quantitative indicators of sustainability need to be subjected to dialogical negotiation and deliberation aimed at establishing qualitative assessment of the problem.

Recognizing as foundational the need to negotiate the terms on which the task of achieving sustainability is implemented, the approach links “natural” with “social” scientific endeavour in a policy‐oriented and practical approach to binding together quantitative with qualitative “indicators” of sustainability.

The paper examines the cultural differences in consumers' evaluations of vertical brand extensions.

A 2 (extension types: upward, downward) × 2 (nationality: USA, China) × 2 (ownership: owner, non-owner) between-subjects design with thinking styles as a covariate was employed to test consumers' evaluations of vertical brand extensions. A total of 228 subjects from the US and 194 from China participated in the two experimental studies.

The paper finds that consumers prefer downward extensions to upward extensions. Furthermore, Chinese consumers have even more favorable evaluations of downward extension products than do American consumers. In addition, analytic thinkers exhibit a stronger ownership effect than holistic thinkers.

The research contributes to the understanding of culture differences in vertical brand extension evaluations.

Advocates and critics of target‐setting in the workplace seem unable to reach beyond their own well‐entrenched battle lines. While the advocates of goal‐directed behaviour point to what they see as demonstrable advantages, the critics of target‐setting highlight equally demonstrable disadvantages. Indeed, the academic literature on this topic is currently mired in controversy, with neither side seemingly capable of envisaging a better way forward. This paper seeks to break the current deadlock and move thinking forward in this important aspect of performance measurement and management by outlining a new, more fruitful approach, based on both theory and practical experience.

The topic was approached in three phases: assembling and reading key academic and other literature on the subject of target‐setting and goal‐directed behaviour, with a view to understanding, in depth, the arguments advanced by the advocates and critics of target‐setting; comparing these published arguments with one's own experiential findings, in order to bring the essence of disagreement into much sharper focus; and then bringing to bear the academic and practical experience to identify the essential elements of a new, more fruitful approach offering all the benefits of goal‐directed behaviour with none of the typical disadvantages of target‐setting.

The research led to three key findings: the advocates of goal‐directed behaviour and critics of target‐setting each make valid points, as seen from their own current perspectives; the likelihood of these two communities, left to themselves, ever reaching a new synthesis, seems vanishingly small (with leading thinkers in the goal‐directed behaviour community already acknowledging this); and, between the three authors, it was discovered that their unusual combination of academic study and practical experience enabled them to see things differently. Hence, they would like to share their new thinking more widely.

The authors fully accept that their paper is informed by extensive practical experience and, as yet, there have been no opportunities to test their findings, conclusions and recommendations through rigorous academic research. However, they hope that the paper will move thinking forward in this arena, thereby informing future academic research.

The authors hope that the practical implications of the paper will be significant, as it outlines a novel way for organisations to capture the benefits of goal‐directed behaviour with none of the disadvantages typically associated with target‐setting.

Given that increased efficiency and effectiveness in the management of organisations would be good for society, the authors think the paper has interesting social implications.

Leading thinkers in the field of goal‐directed behaviour, such as Locke and Latham, and leading critics of target‐setting, such as Ordóñez et al. continue to argue with one another – much like, at the turn of the nineteenth century, proponents of the “wave theory of light” and proponents of the “particle theory of light” were similarly at loggerheads. Just as this furious scientific debate was ultimately resolved by Taylor's experiment, showing that light could behave both as a particle and wave at the same time, the authors believe that the paper demonstrates that goal‐directed behaviour and target‐setting can successfully co‐exist.

This chapter examines US Africa Policy under Obama with a particular focus on the Southern African region. The author examines American policy from a historical perspective to give credence to his view that while certain changes have occurred in American global and Africa Policy in particular, it is the issues that have changed, and the drivers of that policy change but the fundamental basis of the American policy has not changed much. American policy has remained anchored on global hegemony driven by the increasingly frayed Washington consensus as expressed initially in its Cold War rhetoric and stance against the former USSR and its perceived allies and now against terrorism.

This work examines the existing literature on Southern African history and politics written by scholars and observers including regional heads of state like Nyerere of Tanzania and Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia. This study also draws from the author’s knowledge and experiences as a citizen and observer over the years of the many facets of vicissitudes of regional politics and is interface with international foreign policy pressures and interests. This work thus, draws from the literature on and about regional politics and international relations over the years coupled by the author’s personal experiences.

This chapter makes clear link between Cold War politics and current American foreign policy on African and the Southern African region in particular. In fact the US anti-terrorism rhetoric has remained consistent during and after the Cold War. During the Cold War, liberation movements in Southern Africa fighting to end colonial rule and racist apartheid regime were declared terrorist movements and hence the subject of US hostility especially given these movements’ support for arms and materials from the USSR and China. USSR was manufactured as the organizer of international terrorism. Proxy wars were waged to deal with these movements and their supporters such as the war in Angola where the United States supported dubious and questionable characters like Jonas Savimbi of the National Union for the Total Liberation of Angola (UNITA) and Holden Robert of the Front for the National Liberation of Angola (FNLA) and Zairian dictator, Mobutu SeseSeko. While FNLA was widely accepted as a CIA outfit, Mobutu was imposed by US intelligence support (CIA) against a popular leader, Patrice Lumumba, who was assassinated shortly after independence.

At the end of the Cold War a new form of terrorism manifested itself in the form of Muslim Jihadists who on the continent were seen to emerge in East Africa and the Horn of Africa and the American fascination has been to ensure that this terrorism does not afflict the rest of the continent and the Southern African region in particular. Support to African governments has shifted from the initial years of confused neglect complimented with ambivalent engagement and finally, to humanitarianism. This has taken the form of the support to Africa to fight HIV and AIDS so as to harvest a favourable ground among African governments. This was seen as helping to ensconce American support in the region and weaken the ground for the Al Qaeda intrusion, real or imagined. It was also hoped that this might help counter growing Chinese influence. It is not entirely surprising too that the economic and strategic focus has been to sustain a declining hegemonic position especially in a region where Chinese investments and influence have outstripped American and Western influence.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the notion of art as a product. This paper develops a detailed understanding of how established visual artists engage with the notion in their art making and market interactions, drawing insight from the longitudinal debate on the essence of art, including its connection with entrepreneurial marketing.

The authors uses a conceptual framework involving artists’ and other stakeholders’ philosophical positions, artists’ career stages, reputation (including branding), market associations and the forms of value generated by artists and consumers to help shape their qualitative research design involving in-depth interviews with 16 established Australian artists. NVivo software aided data analysis to improve theory building.

Market orientation, entrepreneurial market creation, co-creation, co-production activities and sharing value among interested stakeholders are important factors in viewing art as a commercial product. Sustainable value creation is also crucial. Key emergent themes were motivation to create, engagement with the market and artists’ attitudes towards art as a product. This paper identifies a fluidity in the relationship between an artist and their art.

Co-creation, co-production and sharing value among interested stakeholders are important factors as are market orientation versus entrepreneurial market creation activities. Sustainable value creation is also crucial. Key emergent themes were motivation to create, engagement with the market and artists’ attitudes towards art as a product.

Established artists have made a conscious decision to engage, or otherwise with the marketplace. This research uncovers the merits of adopting a product approach in engaging with the market and artist centred creation which avoids marketplace interaction.

This research has the potential to contribute to policy decision-making in the sector and in stimulating future comparative research. There are wider implications for the cultural and creative industries where entrepreneurial market creation can stimulate creativity and innovation.

The purpose of this paper is to call for strong medical co-leadership in transforming the Australian health system. The paper discusses how Health LEADS Australia, the Australian health leadership framework, offers an opportunity to engage medical clinicians and doctors in the leadership of health services.

The paper first discusses the nature of medical leadership and its associated challenges. The paper argues that medical leaders have a key role in the design, implementation and evaluation of healthcare reforms, and in translating these reforms for their colleagues. Second, this paper describes the origins and nature of Health LEADS Australia. Third, this paper discusses the importance of the goal of Health LEADS Australia and suggests the evidence-base underpinning the five foci in shaping medical leadership education and professional development. This paper concludes with suggestions on how Health LEADS Australia might be evaluated.

For the well-being of the Australian health system, doctors need to play an important role in the kind of leadership that makes measurable differences in the retention of clinical professions; improves organisational cultures; enhances the engagement of consumers and their careers; is associated with better patient and public health outcomes; effectively addresses health inequalities; balances cost effectiveness with improved quality and safety; and is sustainable.

This is the first article addressing Health LEADS Australia and medical leadership. Australia is actively engaging in a national approach to health leadership. Discussions about the mechanisms and intentions of this are valuable in both national and global health leadership discourses.

Who works, how much one works, and what one earns are the cornerstones of labor economics. However, determining the answers to these questions can be tricky because many factors are involved in estimating labor supply, explaining the implications of labor demand, and determining the resulting earnings. This volume contains 13 chapters on these components of the labor market. Five deal directly with labor supply; four deal with labor demand, most notably the effect of cyclical demand fluctuations; and the remaining four deal with compensation, particularly wages, wage distributions, and fringe benefits.