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THE Fifty‐First Conference of the Library Association takes place in the most modern type of British town. Blackpool is a typical growth of the past fifty years or so, rising from the greater value placed upon the recreations of the people in recent decades. It has the name of the pleasure city of the north, a huge caravansary into which the large industrial cities empty themselves at the holiday seasons. But Blackpool is more than that; it is a town with a vibrating local life of its own; it has its intellectual side even if the casual visitor does not always see it as readily as he does the attractions of the front. A week can be spent profitably there even by the mere intellectualist.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how small firms work at a micro-level, applying Bourdieu’s Capital Theory to give insight into the way individuals use the social and cultural capital at their disposal, to innovate and solve problems.

The authors applied qualitative methods to explore problem solving and innovation activities at the micro-level in small firms, using interviews and thematic analysis.

The findings reveal that, compared to firms with lower levels of social and cultural capital, firms which possess higher levels of social and cultural capital have a higher success rate in problem solving and are more likely to engage in innovative activity. Social and cultural capitals complement and reinforce one another in small firms, for example an enhanced ability to utilise networks (social capital) allows small firms to access a greater diversity of knowledge (cultural capital).

Little is known about how different forms of capital are utilised in the day-to-day operations and problem solving of small firms: the application of Bourdieu’s Capital Theory offered an original frame in which to explore these activities.

IN the nature of things the Library Association Conference this year cannot have the spectacular character of the jubilee one of 1950; but that does not mean it will be less effective or less useful. Edinburgh is the second city of the United Kingdom, at least in appeal to bookmen, and probably Scots would object to our order of the hierarchy. Apart from the public libraries, a place that has the National Library of Scotland, the Advocates, the Signet and the University libraries, to name only the principal ones, with many associations and treasures, must have great attractions. On looking over conference reports generally, one can infer that the one institution in a town that is not frequented by librarians in the week is the public library. The obstacle is no doubt occupation with the meetings, which many delegates are naturally unwilling to miss. But we do suggest that library visits by newcomers to Edinburgh might be quite as important, in present impression and lasting effect, as most ordinary meetings can be. Since it must be admitted that our business at Edinburgh is to attend meetings, restraint is essential, but at least the Central Library and the fine Leith Library should be squeezed into the personal programme.

EVERY librarian in his inmost heart dislikes newspapers. He regards them as bad literature; attractors of undesirable readers; a drain upon the limited resources of the library; and a target against which the detractors of public libraries are constantly battering. From the standpoint of the librarian, newspapers are the most expensive and least productive articles stocked by a library, and their lavish provision is, perhaps, the most costly method of purchasing waste‐paper ever devised. Pressure of circumstances and local conditions combine, however, to muzzle the average librarian, and the consequence is that a perfectly honest and outspoken discussion of the newspaper question is very rarely seen. In these circumstances, an attempt to marshal the arguments for and against the newspaper, together with some account of a successful practical experiment at limitation, may prove interesting to readers of this magazine.

This position paper focuses on the current tensions and challenges of aligning inpatient care with innovations in mental health services. It argues that a cultural shift is required within inpatient services. Obstacles to change including traditional perceptions of the role and responsibilities of the psychiatrist are discussed. The paper urges all staff working in acute care to reflect on the service that they provide, and to consider how the adoption of new ways of working might revolutionise the organisational culture. This cultural shift offers inpatient staff the opportunity to fully utilise their expertise. New ways of working may be perceived as a threat to existing roles and responsibilities or as an exciting opportunity for professional development with increased job satisfaction. Above all, the move to new ways of working, which is gathering pace throughout the UK, could offer service users1 a quality of care that meets their needs and expectations.

The theoretical basis for the case is information asymmetry and signaling theory, with buybacks providing a mechanism for reducing information asymmetry between management and investors. The controversy surrounding buybacks has led to political and regulatory scrutiny, which, consistent with evidence from academic research, may affect corporate behavior.

The compact case is based on secondary, public information about stock buybacks. All sources used are cited in-text, with full citations included in the references section at the end of the teaching note.

Stock buybacks, a means of providing returns to shareholders, have recently received increased scrutiny by politicians, media and shareholder activists. Proponents have argued that buybacks result in efficient allocation of capital by returning funds to shareholders, whereas opponents have criticized buybacks for enriching executives, providing tax advantages to shareholders and contributing to income inequality. Corporations did not curtail their use of buybacks after the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 imposed an excise tax. The case frames the buyback debate in current events and focuses on the buyback activity of Apple. The case provides students the opportunity to analyze alternative ways that companies can provide returns to shareholders, evaluate impacts of buybacks on corporate stakeholders and appraise the reasons for, and implications of, current controversy regarding buybacks.

This compact case is appropriate for upper-level undergraduate or graduate courses in financial accounting, tax and finance. This case provides an opportunity to analyze and evaluate stock buyback decisions in the context of the current controversy related to buybacks.

Using a qualitative grounded theory approach, this study explores the methods experienced external auditors use to detect fraudulent financial reporting (FFR) during standard audits.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 experienced external auditors to explore the methods they used to detect FFR successfully during standard external audits.

The authors find 58 methods used for FFR detection, out of which the following methods are frequently used and help in detecting more than one type of FFR: (1) specific analytical procedures, (2) positive confirmation, (3) understanding of the client's business and industry, (4) the inspection of specific documents, (5) a detailed analysis of the audit client's anti-fraud controls and (6) investigating tip-offs from suppliers, employees and customers.

Based on the grounded theory approach, the authors theorise that auditors must return to the basics and focus on specific audit procedures highlighted in this study for effective fraud detection.

The study provides practical guidance, including 58 methods used in audit practice to detect FFR. This knowledge can improve auditors' skills in detecting material misstatements due to fraud. Besides, analytical procedures and positive confirmation helped external auditors in this study detect all forms of FFR, yet they are overlooked in the external audit practice. Therefore, audit firms should emphasise the significance of these audit procedures in their professional audit training programmes. Audit regulators should advise auditors to consider positive confirmation instead of negative confirmation in financial audits to increase the likelihood of FFR detection. Moreover, audit standards (ISA 240 and SAS 99) should explicitly require auditors to conduct a detailed analysis of the client's anti-fraud controls.

This is the first study to identify actual, effective methods used by external auditors in detecting FFR during the ordinary course of an audit.

This study aims to investigate the aspects that influence reflective practice during an action learning approach to management development programmes (MDPs).

A narrative inquiry approach was used to gather interview and pictorial data from 16 participants who had attended an action learning oriented MDP. Data were translated into interpretive stories using McCormack’s lenses, which were further analysed using thematic analysis.

Two key themes emerged: dealing with emotions and practising reflection. Participants initially found reflecting uncomfortable, but showed courage by persevering. Participants had to learn how to reflect and set aside time for it, while valuing support and guidance from their action learning facilitator.

The findings and recommendations may not be relevant to all types of action learning as action learning forms and contexts differ.

Reflective practice is the responsibility of both the participant and the action learning facilitator. Participants need to create the time and space to learn, be fully present during reflection, practice mindfulness and have the courage to be uncomfortable while reflecting. Action learning facilitators could encourage reflection by creating a safe learning environment, selecting a diverse action learning team, designing reflection time into the MDP and helping participants apply reflection tools.

Reflective practice enhances learning; yet there is a need to better understand reflective practice in an action learning context. This study provides empirical evidence of the aspects that influence the reflection process and outcomes as well as practical guidelines to participants and facilitators on how to promote reflection.

In 1899 the medical practitioners of Dublin were confronted with an outbreak of a peculiar and obscure illness, characterised by symptoms which were very unusual. For want of a better explanation, the disorder, which seemed to be epidemic, was explained by the simple expedient of finding a name for it. It was labelled as “beri‐beri,” a tropical disease with very much the same clinical and pathological features as those observed at Dublin. Papers were read before certain societies, and then as the cases gradually diminished in number, the subject lost interest and was dropped.