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The purpose of this paper is to examine what factors affect student achievement in reading and mathematics. The research questions addressed the perceptions of school principals and background characteristics related to student achievement in Korea and the USA with respect to differences among students in low, middle and high quantiles.

Data were taken from the Program for International Student Assessment 2012. Scores in the reading and mathematics were analyzed in conjunction with a principal survey. The Quantile Regression method was used for data analysis with three quantile points. T-statistics were used to test for significance. The predictor set consisted of seven school-leadership variables, and four to six additional covariates.

The most important finding for the USA was a relationship between organizational hindrance (HND) and low student achievement for the middle and upper quantiles in mathematics and for all quantiles in reading. The (HND) variable included poor teacher-student relations, low expectation of students, overly strict enforcement of rules, lack of attention to student needs, resistance to change, lateness to class, and lack of preparation. The most important finding for Korea was that there were significant associations across all groups between teacher attitude (TCHATT) and student reading achievement and with the low group in mathematics.

This study adds to knowledge about school capacity and suggests that the leadership role of the principal is to overcome negative environmental factors and create a positive organization.

The non-Gaussian approach of regression analysis allowed us to identify significant differences that we otherwise might not have found.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of school leaders to provide social justice in three contexts: Costa Rica, Mexico, and Spain.

A qualitative study was conducted under the interpretative tradition characterized by a search for an understanding of the social world from the point of view of a school director from each of the three countries. Interviews were conducted to determine their views on social justice, the actions they took, and the obstacles they confronted.

The directors conceived of education as a right and believed in equal educational opportunity, and fair distribution of resources. They used a variety of methods to promote social justice, increase social cohesion, and provide emotional education. Obstacles came from educational authorities who tried to control rather than support their efforts. They were committed to working in schools with marginalized populations, but their efforts had taken a toll on their personal and professional lives.

The research looked at just three principals whose experiences were unique to their context. However, the study has the advantage of looking at schools not typically included in educational research.

The work of these school directors underscores the need for preparation in skills, knowledge, and values to work for social justice.

The value of this research is to illuminate the narratives of school leaders. Working across borders can provide insights about the possibilities of change and strength to persevere.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the genesis of the first Macro‐Marketing Seminar and to review the institutionalization of macromarketing which resulted from it.

The paper briefly reviews the history of macromarketing, the changes in society and marketing thought, and the seminal research which led to the first Macro‐Marketing Seminar.

Early macromarketing research was supplanted by a managerial marketing focus in mid‐twentieth century while at the same time society was awakening to the interconnections between human behavior and a broad range of societal problems. The early marketing theory seminars provided a template for the first Macro‐Marketing Seminar.

The paper explains the resurgence of macromarketing which from that first pivotal Macro‐Marketing Seminar has blossomed into a multifaceted and institutionalized area of study.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a profile of the novelist Charles Dickens.

Several biographies and articles about the life of Charles Dickens were examined, to see if there was evidence that he experienced mental health problems.

While Dickens has been acclaimed for his ability to authentically portray the living conditions of the poor in the nineteenth-century Britain, there is comparatively little historical record of the fact that he may have experienced bipolar disorder. This paper suggests that he displayed many of the characteristic symptoms of bipolar.

The story of Dickens’ own childhood is an amazing example of personal resilience. It no doubt enhanced the quality of his writing, but it may also have “sown the seeds” of a later mental illness.

So much attention has been focused on the colourful characters from Dickens’ novels, but little on the problems of the man himself.

The story of Charles Dickens is as fascinating as any of the fictional characters he created, if not even more intriguing. His story confirms the link between writers, creativity and mood disorders.

Given the huge attention and worldwide acclaim paid to the books of Charles Dickens, which have inspired numerous films as well as musicals, it is surprising how little attention has been paid to the author himself and his struggles with mental illness.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the components of a knowledge management system that contribute to superior new product program performance.

An extensive review of the academic and managerial literatures that deal with knowledge management's contribution to superior performance was first undertaken. After identifying gaps in the literature, a comprehensive model of a knowledge management system was developed. Where possible, existing measures of the constructs in this model were utilized. A questionnaire was developed, a commercial mailing list purchased, and a two wave mailing which produced a 15.8 percent response rate conducted.

The paper finds that customer intelligence generation, competitor intelligence generation, technological intelligence generation, and intelligence dissemination all contribute to the stock of knowledge assets (p<0.05). It was also found that, after controlling for influences on new product performance, a knowledge‐based strategy fully mediated the knowledge asset‐new product program performance relationship (p<0.05).

This is a cross‐sectional study so causality should not be implied. The study was conducted among companies competing in high‐tech industries so there may be questions about generalizability.

Within the limitations of the research design, this study demonstrates the components of a knowledge management system. It provides numerous examples of the techniques utilized and companies that utilize them.

The paper identifies the components of a knowledge management system that contribute to superior new product program performance.

This case study is an attempt to understand the experience of a school principal, Arnulfo. The research question is: what are the challenges of one first‐year school director in Baja California, Mexico?

Arnulfo participated in an interview and five focus groups at the Ensenada State Normal School. He kept a journal of incidents completed during April‐July 2006. A team of three researchers helped to write the case study. One researcher collected the data and wrote a summary in Spanish. A second researcher organized the material and translated it into English. The third researcher criticized and reviewed the write‐up.

Arnulfo faced a variety of challenges, but the burden of paperwork was the most serious. It can be understood on a number of levels. Bolman and Deal's four frames to understand organizations and leadership help to explain the complexity in terms of structural, human resource, symbolic, and political. The political frame was Arnulfo's greatest strength. He advocated for the school, formed alliances with parents, and took action to get the support of others.

The analysis, if confirmed by broader studies with larger samples, would lead to several recommendations for educational administration preparation. Principals need to know about the structural tasks of paperwork; maintain relationships with supervisors to assure adequate support; understand the symbolic culture in which they work, and become savvy in the ways of politics.

The International Study of Principal Preparation will compare findings and offer perspective on the extent to which these issues are representative of challenges that directors face in eight other countries.

Examines unit pricing of grocery products, a recent business response to the forces of consumerism in the USA, and its effects on the consumer, the retailer and the manufacturer. States that, as a pricing device, unit pricing is not entirely new, as products such as meats, dairy products and many fresh fruits and vegetables have been unit priced for years. Concludes that, before the full impact of unit pricing can be assessed, additional research questions need to be answered.

This article aims to propose a continuum of strategic engagement approaches to base‐of‐the‐pyramid (BOP) markets ranging from non‐profit and government aid to corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and social entrepreneurship. A framework is presented to identify which approach to serving the BOP market makes the most sense under certain conditions, depending on availability of consumer resources to participate in the initiative, the infrastructure available for the initiative to leverage, and whether the focus of the initiative is to be self‐sustaining over time.

This is a conceptual article based on literature review and synthesis.

Eight different approaches to engage with BOP markets are recommended under different combinations of three underlying conditions: consumer resources, infrastructure availability and self‐sustainability goals.

The paper presents a continuum of strategic engagement approaches to BOP markets.

To familiarize readers with the nature, scope and history of macromarketing and, more specifically, with the European contribution to macromarketing.

The paper is based on a selective literature review and personal observation with a focus on the past, the present and the likely future of macromarketing.

The paper reports both on the limited degree of emphasis placed on macromarketing by marketing scholars and the reasons why macromarketing has not received more attention.

This paper provides a heretofore missing overview of the nature and scope of an important subdiscipline within academic marketing. The European contribution to macromarketing is discussed in considerable detail. Some personal views on the likely future development of this area are also offered.