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The research reported in this article involved a structural change in a Canadian High School. The change resulted in the transfer of control over the budget from the school division to the school staff. It was judged to have been successful and this was attributed to a number of factors: (i) the change occurred when the school's environment was receptive to new ideas and new organizational patterns; (ii) there had been changes in education at the Provincial level; (iii) there was some dissatisfaction with the existing system at the school and the new system reduced this dissatisfaction; (iv) personnel in the school had the support of officials superordinate to them in the school division; (v) the Principal had a sound knowledge of the change agent's role; (vi) the school's staff was involved in planning and implementing the change and each member had a clearly defined role to play; (vii) the Principal was able to maintain the school's newly established control at the school level. In this article these reasons are analyzed and comparisons are made between the findings from this research and those of related studies.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the prevalence of staff bullying in Australian schools, to identify bullies and targets and to examine some implications for school leaders in dealing with staff bullying.

The quantitative research design survey instrument contained 11 demographic items, 44 questions of bullying experience, two lists of possible bullies and targets, plus three open‐ended questions.

Data revealed that 99.6 per cent of respondents had experienced some form of bullying during their employment. Half the respondents experienced 32 or more of the 44 listed survey items, while their health was adversely affected by persistent and frequent bullying.

The research revealed the existence of workplace bullying in Australian schools and some obvious implications for leadership. It profiled the experiences of respondents and identified strategies to eliminate or reduce bullying in Australian schools.

The exploratory study was the first national online survey into staff bullying in Australian schools.

There is growing evidence of a worldwide shortage of persons willing to apply for vacant principal positions in schools. Reports a study about why more persons are not applying for principal positions in Catholic schools in New South Wales, Australia. An analysis of the career aspirations of those eligible and likely to apply at some stage for a principal position revealed a high level of “unwilling” respondents. Ranks and discusses ten factors identified from a study of their perceptions of issues that would discourage or encourage them to apply. The most significant negative factor is the impact on family and personal life. Others include gender issues and the nature of the selection and interview process. The significant positive factor is that principals have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. Reflections on the findings include addressing the changing nature of school culture, the implications for the principalship and the need to develop a culture of leadership in schools.

ON December 6th Mr. Salter Davies was installed President of the Library Association at Chaucer House in succession to Mr. S. A. Pitt. A word first should be said about the Presidency of Mr. Pitt. It has been carried on under handicaps that would have deterred most men in such a post. A severe illness, successfully encountered and gallantly overcome, has been the main personal feature for Mr. Pitt of what should have been the most distinguisned year of a quite eminent library career. We had looked forward to very active work from him during his Presidency, and so far as circumstances permitted, he fulfilled all the obligations laid upon him completely. We can thank him more warmly, if not more sincerely, than perhaps would ordinarily be the case, because of the difficulties he has victoriously surmounted. With newly established health, we wish for him a continuance of the great work he has done for librarianship not only in Glasgow but in the Library Association and in the world of libraries generally.

Many treatment methods for intra-articular fractures of the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint are described in the literature without a consensus on the most effective approach. The purpose of this study was to investigate the methods of treatment of PIP joint fractures being used by trauma surgeons in the Republic of Ireland currently and the timing of referral to therapy.

A cross-sectional descriptive study methodology was used to survey trauma surgeons, occupational therapists and physiotherapists in Ireland. An online platform was used. A total of 21 surveys were returned by surgeons and 37 by therapists. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to present the results.

Buddy strapping was reported as the primary treatment method for stable PIP joint fractures. All levels of fracture severity were reported to be treated using traction constructs, which include static and dynamic fixation and orthoses. Unstable fractures were managed using open reduction with internal fixation by 50 per cent of surgeons. Early timing of referral to therapy is reported by more surgeons than therapists. The majority of therapists indicated that they did not have the resources to see patients at the optimal time.

To the authors’ knowledge, this study provides the first description of the management of PIP joint fractures across the Irish health service. The findings of this study suggest that additional therapy resources are required within the health service executive to facilitate the desired early referral to therapy and to enable service development for this category of hand fractures.

Literature examining resistant consumer behaviour from an ethical consumption stance has increased over recent years. This paper aims to argue that the conflation between ethical consumer behaviour and “anti‐consumption” practices results in a nihilistic reading and fails to uncover the tensions of those who seek to position themselves as ethical while still participating in the general market.

The study adopts an exploratory approach through semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with a purposive sample of seven ethical consumers.

The analysis reveals the process through which ethical consumption is constructed and defined in relation to the subject position of the “ethical consumer” and their interactions with the dominant market of consumption.

This research is limited to a single country and location and focused on a specific consumer group. Expansion of the research to a wider group would be valuable.

The impact of ethical consumption on the wider field of consumption can be witnessed in the “mainstreaming” of many ethical ideals. This highlights the potential movements of power between various stakeholders that occupy particular spaces of social action.

Understanding the analysis through Bourdieu's concepts of field and the margins created between spaces of consumption, the paper focuses on the theoretical cross‐section of practice between ethical and market‐driven forms of consumption, advancing discussion by exploring how self‐identified “ethical consumers” defined, legitimatised and negotiated their practices in relation to consumption acts and lifestyles.

This study investigates the nature of customer‐supplier interaction that currently exists within Irish retail financial services. Specifically, issues relating to the role, meaning and importance of financial service interaction within the context of current demand‐ and supply‐side relationship marketing issues are explored. Although the literature proposes that the relationship marketing (RM) approach is particularly applicable to the financial services sector, the research findings raise questions as to the appropriateness of general RM theory to the current nature of interaction between consumers and their financial services providers. In an age of increased depersonalisation and automation impacting upon financial service quality and delivery, the paper questions the relevance of the “relationship” concept and proposes the notion of an “experience” as a far more relevant and meaningful construct. The nature and importance of this experience to consumers is explored and three levels of customer experience are conceptualised which are identified as brand, transactional and relationship experience.

Clinical governance (CG) is an important foundation for a high-performing health care system, with many countries supporting its development. CG policy may be developed and implemented nationally, or devolved to a local level, with implications for the overall approach to implementation and policy uptake. However, it is not known whether one of these two approaches is more effective. The purpose of this paper is to probe this question. Its setting is Ireland and New Zealand, two broadly comparable countries with similar CG policies. Ireland’s was nationally led, while New Zealand’s was devolved to local districts. This leads to the question of whether these different approaches to implementation make a difference.

Data from surveys of health professionals in both countries were used to compare performance with CG development.

The study showed that Ireland’s approach produced a slightly better performance, raising questions about the merits of devolving responsibility for policy implementation to the local level.

The Irish and New Zealand surveys both had lower-than-desirable response rates, which is not uncommon for studies of health professionals such as this. The low response rates mean the findings may be subject to selection bias.

Despite the importance of the question of whether a national or local approach to policy implementation is more effective, few studies specifically focus on this, meaning that this study provides a new contribution to the topic.