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Overviews recent statistical analyses in the field of interlending and document supply. Examines statistics from studies performed in Spain, South Africa, the Middle East, and the USA. Notes the significant impact of DOCLINE, the US National Library of Medicine′s automated interlibrary lending (ILL) request and routing system. Reviews the feasibility study for a pilot European interlending system. Looks at the issue of copyright. Provides examples of decentralised ILL systems found in Australia and South Africa.

Let us start with one moment of recorded (even perhaps of illicitly reproduced) history:

Surveys the work and achievements of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations ‐ IFRRO ‐ and its members, the national RROs, in connection with the international document delivery market and the trends and power shifts besetting it in the late 1990s.

On its stated terms as “a descriptive conspectus” of the 550 titles registered in British Library publications 1988, together with the many newsletters and priced and unpriced ephemeral literature emanating from its multifarious services and agencies, this careful compilation will no doubt fulfil a need for students and teachers of librarianship and information science here and abroad. There is a select bibliography of two pages and a 28‐page index. Proof reading is excellent, just a few slips, e.g. the Dainton Committee was set up in 1967 not 1957, IOLR had c.400,00 books ands serials, not 4 million.

The conclusion of the Cold War rivalry between the United States and former Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s created new areas of opportunity and concern for U.S. national security policy. No longer menaced by the threat of nuclear war from Soviet military might, the United States emerged from the Cold War as the world's preeminent military power. Successful developments such as this often produce elation in the pronouncements of U.S. officials as a recent Clinton administration declaration demonstrates:

The purpose of this paper is to extensively report the implications of the global trend of declining fertility rates and an increasingly ageing population. The experiences of childless men are mostly absent from gerontological, psychological, reproduction, and sociological, research. These disciplines have mainly focussed on family formation and practices, whilst the fertility intentions, history, and experience of men have been overlooked. Not fulfilling the dominant social status of parenthood provides a significant challenge to both individual and cultural identity. Distress levels in both infertile men and women have been recorded as high as those with grave medical conditions.

The aim of this paper is to provide some insight into the affect involuntarily childless has on the lives of older men. This auto/biographical qualitative study used a pluralistic framework drawn from the biographical, feminist, gerontological, and life course approaches. Data were gathered from in-depth semi-structured biographical interviews with 14 self-defined involuntary men aged between 49 and 82 years from across the UK. A broad thematic analysis highlighted the complex intersections between involuntary childlessness and agency, biology, relationships, and socio-cultural structures.

Diverse elements affected the men’s involuntary childlessness: upbringing, economics, timing of events, interpersonal skills, sexual orientation, partner selection, relationship formation and dissolution, bereavement, and the assumption of fertility. The importance of relationship quality was highlighted for all the men: with and without partners. Quality of life was affected by health, relationships, and social networks. Awareness of “outsiderness” and a fear of being viewed a paedophile were widely reported.

This is a study based on a small self-selecting “fortuitous” sample. Consequently care should be taken in applying the findings to the wider population.

Health and social care policy, practice and research have tended to focus on family and women. The ageing childless are absent and excluded from policy, practice, and research. Recognition of those ageing without children or family is urgent given that it is predicted that there will be over two million childless people aged 65 and over by 2030 (approximately 25 per cent of the 65 and over population). The consequences for health and social care of individuals and organisations are catastrophic if this does not happen.

The visit to Aberdeen of Her Majesty The Queen on June 27 confirmed what had been obvious for a little time—that the epidemic of typhoid fever in the city is over, notwithstanding that sporadic “secondaries” may continue to occur from time to time. The number of confirmed cases admitted to hospital exceed 400 and the outbreak is among the largest of this century in Britain. The largest number of cases on any one day was 64 on June 1, but by the second week in June, cases had begun to fall and the outbreak was on the decline. The total included about 90 children and there were 38 suspected cases which proved not to be typhoid fever. The infection spread beyond Aberdeen and on June 8, the Secretary of State for Scotland said in the House of Commons that 31 patients (29 in Scotland and two in (England) were in hospital with typhoid contracted in Aberdeen and that 40 other cases were under investigation.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the managers of early adopting Australian firms contribute to the institutionalisation of integrated reporting (IR).

This study is situated within institutional theory. The authors undertook semi-structured interviews with 23 Australian managers. The authors drew on Gabriel's (2000) poetic analytics to show how the sensemaking activities of the early adopters contribute to the institutionalisation process.

Two main narratives dominate our managers’ experience: IR as story-telling and IR as meeting expectations. These two narratives are constructed simultaneously and theyset up contrasting plots regarding salient events, responsibilities and characters that are resolved through one or more of three “inter-narratives” that background these tensions. The inter-narratives suggest time, the company's strategy, and talking and engagement can solve problems.

The authors argue that the managers of early adopting firms are important in the institutionalisation process. Even though they may not necessarily be institutional entrepreneurs they do engage in important “institutional work”. The study is limited by its predominant focus on only one participant to the institutionalisation process, and it is may be the case that the institutionalisation of IR is not ultimately successful.

Provides in-depth insights into an under-researched participant in an institutional field contributes to institutionalisation. Additionally, it sheds light on the conditions under which firms will engage with IR.

This chapter is an attempt to review the New START Treaty and put forward the perspectives and prospects. The chapter outlines certain assumptions that should be kept in mind for the success of arms control based upon the findings therein. This point about arms race should be obvious, but is often ignored although the need for arms control can never be undermined.

The prime issue in Russo–American relations – apart from economic and political reforms – remains arms' control (or nuclear security). Both nuclear superpowers wish to reduce and/or redeploy forces for reasons of cost and effectiveness, and the signing of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that builds on a previous agreement is an important step. Both sides have deep incentives to cooperate as they share common concerns on one hand and yet their interests differ owing to different force postures and perceived threats giving rise to an inequality of interest on the other.

The New START Treaty is not just about Washington and Moscow. It is about the entire world community. While the treaty is bilateral, it has big implications for global security. The United States and Russia control more than 90% of the world’s nuclear arsenal, and the world looks to these two countries for leadership in securing nuclear materials globally and preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. Thus, the new Treaty sets the stage for engaging other powers in fulfilling the goals of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the chapter examines the issues concerning the fallout of the New START Treaty.

The threat posed by nuclear weapons to world peace need not be exaggerated. Advancement in science and technology has enabled us to go for a complete annihilation of not only the Homo sapiens but all the species on earth. Should we permit our idiocy entangled with the nuclear weapons to destroy us or should we, the thinking animals, permit our wisdom to outlive the demonic nuclear weapons, is a question that is being asked by sensible people all over the world today. Just public denouncement of weapons of mass destruction is un-utilitarian. Mankind has been hearing such hollow, absurd words ever since the first atomic test. We have been feeding ourselves on a diet of hypocrisy. If it is not that what else is CTBT? Should the world permit demons to chant mantra? Isn’t it time to recognize that the world is governed not by saints but by Satans? (This is because rise and fall of civilizations has taught us that might is still right.) Isn’t it time to understand that only a metamorphosis of the Satans into saints can save the world? If we know that well, we should start thinking how the nuclear Satans could be transformed into nuclear saints and it is only logical that the nuke Satans should take initiative in transforming themselves, which alone would salvage the world. The present study is premised on these assumptions.