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Miss Agatha Christie wrote: “The following day saw Hercule Poirot perusing a large calf‐bound volume and other slimmer works, with occasional harried glances at various typewritten slips of paper.

Industrial executives frequently require special information in order to solve their particular problems. A Sales Manager may have to estimate the market for a new chemical. A Production Engineer may require technical data in order to undertake the high‐speed machining of steel. A Works Manager may have to find the correct anti‐corrosive treatment for a certain type of ferrous metal. This kind of information and much else can often be obtained from those who have a specialist knowledge of the subject. There are also many cases in which the published results of investigations into special problems will be available in libraries.

Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).

Some Notes on the Provision of Training for Young Recruits to Aircraft Maintenance Engineering.

This particular Mollier‐Chart has been constructed for investigations for increasing the power output of internal combustion engines and gas turbines by means of water injection into the supercharger or compressor respectively. Since the chart may be useful for other similar problems a short description is given and an example illustrates its application.

The Conference of the Scottish Branch of Aslib was held this year on 27th February at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, under the Chairmanship of Dr. D. G. Brown. The opening address was given by Sir Andrew McCance, Deputy Chairman and Joint Managing Director of Messrs. Colvilles, Ltd., and is reported in this issue. He was followed by Mr. M. C. Pottinger, Librarian of the Scottish Central Library, who surveyed Scottish resources of scientific and technical literature and information, and by Dr. C. Macrae who described the work of the Scottish Council. Both these papers are given in full. In the afternoon Mr. J. Revie, of the British Jute Trade Research Association, traced the steps by which a small special library could be set up, and Mr. E. N. Simons, of Messrs. Edgar Allen & Co., Ltd., spoke on the writing of English in abstracts and reports. Mr. Revie's paper is included in this issue; that by Mr. Simons was published in the May, 1953, number of Aslib Proceedings.

In 2015, one university student in KC – a small town in regional Australia – unknowingly launched a resistance movement and national debate on modern wage theft. We apply labour process theory to analyse accounting's role in this case.

We study multiple instances of wage theft in one Australian town. This case site reveals how wage theft can emerge in a developed economy with well-established legal and institutional constraints. We use Thompson's “core” labour process theory to analyse accounting's role via two interrelated dialectics: (1) structure and agency and, (2) control and resistance.

Accounting was “weaponised” by both sides of the controversy: as a tool of employer control and as a vehicle for student resistance. Digital technologies enabled employee resistance to form unconsciously and organically. Proponents mobilised informally, with information and accounting the ammunition.

Wage theft affects industrialised as well as developing economies, especially “precarious” workers. We show how accounting can conceal exploitation, but also how – with the right support – accounting can help vulnerable workers enforce their rights and entitlements.

The paper uncovers novel dynamics of exploitation and resistance at work under contemporary economic and technological conditions. Labour process theory can provide a more dialectical perspective on accounting's role in these dynamics, including the emancipatory potential of informal and opportunistic counter-accounts.

Before attempting to forecast the future trends and possibilities in the provision of information services for industry it is necessary first of all to consider the characteristics of present‐day industrial society and, secondly, the information needs of the industrial units upon which our present economy is based.

Background: Amid increasing leadership failures in the global business context, the mining industry is one of the industries with many adverse incidents, affecting employee safety, the environment, and surrounding communities. Emerging economies tend to have unique socio-economic challenges and greater relative economic dependence on mining, presenting unique challenges to leaders. The purpose of this research was to study the realities of responsible leadership in the mining industry in an emerging economy.

Methods: A qualitative research study, consisting of semi-structured interviews was conducted. Nine senior mine managers were selected to represent perspectives from different operations and mining houses. Data was gathered from August to October 2020 in South Africa, an emerging economy with significant mining operations. A thematic analysis of interview transcripts was conducted through the use of software, rendering five themes, with 12 sub-themes.

Results: The research found that requirements on mining leaders in emerging economies demand consistent balancing of a complex set of competing risks, whilst attending to paradoxical requirements among operations, and internal and external stakeholders. Leaders face several competing requirements from stakeholders, the environment, mining practices, and time frames. Responsible leaders must navigate a paradoxical maze of needs and time horizons, with several conflicting forces and dilemmas, and dichotomous relationships. Responsible leadership in the mining industry of an emerging economy is a proverbial minefield of paradoxes and dilemmas between responsible intentions and practical realities. These paradoxes and dilemmas are specifically acute in the context of emerging economies due to the dire socio-economic situations. A total of 10 competencies emerged as essential responsible leadership requirements in this context.

Conclusions: The study provides an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of responsible leadership in the mining industry of an emerging economy. This understanding will contribute to capacitating leaders in the mining industries of emerging economies to act responsibly.

Protein-based films have good barrier characteristics against gas compared to synthetic films, but they have poor mechanical properties and high water vapour permeability (WVP) due to their hydrophilic nature. Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is available abundantly in Southeast Asian countries and can be potentially utilized for its cellulose to increase the stiffness of the film. Hence, the purpose of this study was to develop a gelatine-based film from chicken feet incorporated with SCB.

Film-forming solutions (FFS) from chicken feet gelatine with different percentages of glycerol (25 and 35 per cent) were prepared by casting 4.0 g of FFS onto a rimmed silicone resin plate (50 × 50 mm²). Cellulose from SCB was purified and used to prepare hydrolyzed SCB. Films with 35 per cent glycerol were selected to be incorporated with different weight percentages (2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 per cent) of hydrolyzed SCB to increase the tensile strength (TS) and lower the WVP of the films. Mechanical properties, colour and transparency of the films were also tested.

Films containing 35 per cent glycerol have lower TS but higher elongation at break compared to films prepared with 25 per cent glycerol. There were no significant differences between the films with 25 per cent and 35 per cent glycerol in thickness, WVP and transparency value tests. Film incorporated with 5.0 Wt.% SCB had a slight increment in TS (23.07 MPa) compared to the control film (22.50 MPa). WVP was also lowered from 2.18 × 10⁻¹¹gm⁻¹s⁻¹Pa⁻¹ to 1.85 × 10⁻¹¹gm⁻¹s⁻¹Pa⁻¹. The other properties, namely, thickness, colour measurement and transparency value, were significantly different (p < 0.05) but nearer to the properties of the control film.

This study incorporates hydrolyzed SCB to study the potential mechanical benefits in protein-based bio-films. There is potential to utilize agricultural waste (chicken feet and SCB) to develop food packaging films.