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An expanding conceptual and research literature identifies cardiovascular disease (CVD) as the disease whose incidence varies most, according to income level. To date however, there has been virtually no public consideration in Canada of the role that societal factors play in its incidence. In an attempt to redress this gap, a community coalition brought together the latest research on the societal determinants of CVD. Barriers to public awareness and public policy action to address these societal determinants of health included the unwillingness of health care associations to consider societal determinants of health as relevant to their activities; general resistance by the media; and active attempts by governments of the day to shift focus away from societal determinants of health. Considering these barriers, university personnel involvement appears essential to any attempt to identify and address the societal determinants of CVD and other diseases.

The idea that low income and poverty are determinants of poor health is uncontested. It is not surprising then that societies with greater numbers of poor people also have poorer population health. Additionally, there is increasing evidence that societies with greater numbers of poor people begin to show a spillover effect by which the health of the "not poor" also begins to deteriorate. Economic inequality is most likely to increase within societies that provide increasing financial gains to the well‐off at the expense of the poor. Also, these societies are more likely to be those reducing investment in social infrastructure.

This paper discusses the role played by social determinants of health in the incidence and management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (diabetes) among vulnerable populations. This issue is especially important in light of recent data from Statistics Canada indicating that mortality rates from diabetes have been increasing among Canadians since the mid‐1980s, with increases being especially great among those living in low‐income communities. Diabetes therefore appears – like cardiovascular disease – to be an affliction more common among the poor and excluded. It also appears to be especially likely to afflict poor women. Yet we know little about how these social determinants of health influence diabetes incidence and management. What evidence is available is provided and the case is made that the crisis in diabetes requires new ways of thinking about this disease, its causes, and its management.

Increasing evidence is accumulating that biomedical and lifestyle factors account for rather small proportions of population variance in incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In North America, however, the medical and public health communities – reinforced by narrow media coverage focused on biomedical and lifestyle issues – remain wedded to these models of cause and prevention. Not surprisingly, public perceptions of the causes of CVD mirror these preoccupations. A review commissioned by a community heart health network brought together the evidence of how CVD results primarily from material deprivation, excessive psychosocial stress, and the adoption of unhealthy coping behaviors. The review has served to help shift thinking about CVD prevention in Canada and the USA.

Given that institutional and cultural factors affect the transfer of HRM practices between multinational companies (MNCs) and their subsidiaries, the paper set out to investigate the explanatory mechanism for the replication of transferred HRM practices and the factors likely to influence the choice of transfer mechanisms.

Using an exploratory qualitative approach, 40 interviews were conducted with senior managers and employees in two MNC subsidiaries located in the alcoholic beverage and oil industries in Nigeria.

The findings suggest that organizational culture (OC) was the mechanism for MNC HRM replication and inhibition. In addition to explaining the mechanisms for HRM practice replication, the authors developed a conceptual framework to explain how clan and hierarchical OC influence the extent to which human resource (HR) practices are replicated or inhibited and how institutional and cultural factors influence the choice of OC.

The study uncovered that MNCs deploy hierarchical OC to oversee the replication of transferred practices. Interestingly, the authors found that institutional and cultural environments were key factors that influenced the choice of mechanism for overseeing the replication of HR practices. The conceptual framework can help managers of MNCs to understand how to replicate transferred HRM practices in developing countries.

GUEST editor of this South African issue of THE LIBRARY WORLD is Hendrik M. Robinson, Director of Library Services, Transvaal Provincial Administration, Pretoria.

The purpose of this study is both to explore how people with “hidden” auditory disorders experience exclusion in servicescapes and to unfold the coping strategies they set up to deal with it.

Findings from 15 semi-structured interviews and participant observations with individuals suffering from auditory disorders are presented through the paper.

The findings indicate that individuals with auditory disorders deploy three types of coping strategies when exposed to sensory overload in servicescapes: choosing between physical servicescapes, opting for electronic devices and e-servicescapes and delegating shopping to relatives.

The study underlines how, through temporary or permanent modifications of servicescape cues, service providers give consumers opportunities to bypass situations involving sensory overload. Implications for e-servicescapes and public policy are also raised.

The findings reveal how the coping strategies used by individuals with auditory disorders contribute to their exclusion from the marketplace on the basis of both individual characteristics and types of servicescapes.

The paper aims to explore some of the hidden costs of these endeavors through an exploration of some the current literature. Despite the perceived ease of creating digital access, the road to digitization is long and fraught with a number of obstacles.

Some of the key ideas researched are the steps to consider when planning a digitization project, the long-term sustainability of such projects and issues of copyright and ownership. This article will benefit any institution planning to embark upon a future digitization project.

More research needs to be conducted as the needs of users change and as the technology shifts and changes.

This paper will benefit any institution planning to embark upon a future digitization project.