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ELLI (European Lifelong Learning Initiative) (http://www.noesis.se:443/ll/elli/elli.html) was established in 1992 to help propagate ideas and actions in Lifelong Learning in Europe. Its offshoot WILL (World Initiative on Lifelong Learning) was established in December 1994 at the First Global Conference on Lifelong Learning to do the same thing at a global level. Both are membership organisations trying to make the most effective use of organisational and personal expertise from among their subscribers. We spoke to Norman Longworth, ELLI's Chief Consultant and former Director of Strategy, about its background and role.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a conceptual framework for work-applied learning (WAL) that fosters the development of managers and other professionals as lifelong learners and practitioner researchers – through reflective practice, action research, action learning and action leadership, for positive organisational change.

The theoretical framework is designed from a holistic, affective-socio-cognitive approach to learning, teaching, research and development. It is based on a phenomenological research paradigm and informed by aspects of various theories, including experiential learning theory, strengths-based theory, grounded theory and critical theory/realism.

Based on classical and recent literature and the authors’ extensive experience, the WAL model presented here is an effective and practical approach to management education, research and development. It is useful for present and future requirements of business, industry, government and society at large in this twenty-first century, and in pursuit of a world of equality, social justice, sustainable development and quality of life for all. This is because of the nature of the research paradigm, particularly its collaborative and emancipatory processes.

This paper provides a theoretical, pedagogical and methodological rationalisation for WAL. This model is particularly useful for developing individual, team and organisational learning and for cultivating managers – or professional learners generally – as practitioner researchers. These researchers may act as role models of collaborative action leadership in their organisations with a cascading effect. This paper therefore advances an incipient literature on practitioner researchers as action leaders.

The aim of this paper is to present an interview and postscript that examine the specific meaning, rationale, conceptual framework, assessment and teaching of critical reflection in and on professional development in management and higher education from an action research perspective.

This article is presented in the new genre of PIP (Zuber-Skerritt, 2009): Preamble – Interview – Postscript. The Preamble (P) sets out the background, purpose, structure and conduct of the interview (I), which addresses six probing questions and is followed by a Postscript (P) that reveals additional comments and reflections on the interview, and identifies learning outcomes and implications.

Reflective practice is essential for a deep approach to learning, research and professional development and it is a driving force to enable learners to be adequately equipped for constant and complex change in today's and tomorrow's turbulent world.

The article is positioned to inspire further R&D in the current debate on urgently needed radical and rapid change in higher education for the twenty-first century.

As well as the article's practical suggestions about why and how to develop reflective learning/practice, the PIP conceptual model applied in this article offers a useful practical approach for researchers to explore self-ethnography through interviews.

Two conceptual models illustrate the essence of this article, providing practical help to academics and other professionals to advance reflective practice in research and learning.

This paper aims to: extend the concept of “The learning organization” to “The learning community”, especially disadvantaged communities; demonstrate how leaders in a migrant community can achieve positive change at the personal, professional, team and community learning levels through participatory action learning and action research (PALAR); and identify the key characteristics of a sustainable learning community.

The paper combines an innovative and creative methodology of PALAR and a new learning system designed by the Global University for Lifelong Learning (GULL).

A lack of cultural understanding on the part of government agencies contributes to a migrant community's socio‐economic disadvantage, e.g. high unemployment and crime rates, underachievement in education, exclusion from higher education. The Samoan community is a disadvantaged migrant group in Australia who were helped to help themselves to achieve positive change and quality learning in partnership with university researchers. The use of an enabling framework designed by GULL, mainly for developing countries, also proved to be an effective system for achieving personal and organizational learning in a disadvantaged community in Australia.

The findings represented in the conceptual models enhance understanding of the key principles and processes involved in an organizational learning project for sustainable development of a learning community.

This is one of the first papers to evaluate and track the learning outcomes in a community applying the GULL system that is used successfully in about 40 developing countries, but has not yet been sufficiently researched and documented in a developed country.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the mission of the Global University for Lifelong Learning (GULL) in supporting work and community‐based learning.

The paper explains the principles on which GULL's action learning system are based and outlines a typical starting point for work‐based learning.

The paper concludes by identifying the role of systemized action learning in support of the agenda for human resource development at Sandals Resorts International.

The paper indicates how a narrative‐based approach to learning at work can be used to reflect and improve on personal and organizational performance.

The paper relates the literature on action learning to its implementation in workplace and community settings.

This paper aims to explains how rural communities in Sri Lanka are responding to the challenges of high unemployment and low household income in a post-conflict society and to explore the possibilities for engaging rural communities in sustainable tourism development as part of their response.

The paper outlines how the South Asian Academy for Good Governance (SAAGG) is using action learning to enable participants to better utilize the resources available to them. It also draws on discussions with community leaders about harnessing this approach to industry training and the resource challenges arising from the Government's strategy for in-bound tourism.

The following are outlined: a framework for self-directed development in rural communities; why rural communities with a long tradition of subsistence farming are reluctant to participate in tourism development; and a community-driven approach to sustainable tourism that could yield benefits for the whole community and at the same time, preserve the traditional way of life.

The paper highlights: an approach to capacity building that assists in the creation sustainable micro enterprise; and the need for innovative thinking and action to mobilize rural communities in support of Sri Lanka's drive to become a leading Asian tourist destination.

The study provides an example of sustainable development that could be replicated by rural communities in other locations. It also identifies the pivotal role of rural community members in providing an authentic tourism experience for international tourists and poses some questions about the best way(s) to engage with this group.

Indigenous culture and traditional ways of learning are drawn on to explain how subsistence communities can develop and implement a business approach that enables them to achieve greater self-reliance and financial independence. The paper also draws on the views of community leaders who are actively involved in facilitating community-based learning and development.

The purpose of this paper is to present a resort‐wide framework termed the “five pillars” that has facilitated innovative ways of managing one of the Caribbean's most successful resorts.

The paper uses action learning as the process to enable all employees to participate in a framework for attaining outrageous guest service, a productive workplace, revenue growth, cost control and quality assurance of the physical resort environment.

The paper provides a practical overview on innovative ways of continually evaluate and improve all‐inclusive resort operations.

The paper illustrates the versatility of the action learning process at all hierarchical levels in a complex luxury all‐inclusive resort.

The paper provides an insightful practitioner perspective on the pressures and challenges relating to the provision of exceptional guest service in an all‐inclusive resort environment.

An increasing amount of research and debate has emerged over the last few years, emphasising the need for developing digitally competent, literate, able, skilled, capable people within a constantly changing technological and online environment. Existing definitions and perspectives in this area go beyond the use of technological tools or media for the creation of a digital literacy mindset, which develops throughout one's life. However, Higher Education strategies have not yet caught up with this agenda.

A student survey with Library and Information Science students from three higher education institutions in Scotland, Ireland and Greece was conducted as a basis of empirical data to support the theoretical propositions of the study. The survey centred on the technical and higher-level digital competences of students and drawing from students' self-perceived digital competences for learning and for the everyday life digital context, addressing e-leisure, e-learning, e-democracy, e-government and e-health activities. The survey critically enabled students to assess digital competences from their perspectives as digital participants.

Students' self-assessment of digital competences were lacking in a number of areas, which involved the development of information literacy, digital creation, digital research and digital identity management. In addition, students' digital competences were found to be linked to previous experiences within the everyday life digital environment. The higher the self-perceived digital competence levels of students were on the basis of dealing with everyday life digital tasks, the more likely they were to also develop high self-perceived digital competence in other digital areas related to their education.

Higher education has not fully embraced digital competences as a core, fundamental literacy which addresses both technology mastery and a digital citizenship mindset. As emerging models begin to challenge traditional teaching and learning paradigms, with global connectivity and personalised approaches, existing digital divides may be further accelerated. This requires revisiting digital competences with emphasis on the diversity of the contexts where it develops and of the learners involved, in the overall continuum of learning for life.

The ideas expressed in this work are based on those put into practice at the Okuma Corporation of Japan, one of the world′s leading machine tool manufacturers. In common with many other large organizations, Okuma Corporation has to meet the new challenges posed by globalization, keener domestic and international competition, shorter business cycles and an increasingly volatile environment. Intelligent corporate strategy (ICS), as practised at Okuma, is a unified theory of strategic corporate management based on five levels of win‐win relationships for profit/market share, namely: ,1. Loyalty from customers (value for money) – right focus., 2. Commitment from workers (meeting hierarchy of needs) – right attitude., 3. Co‐operation from suppliers (expanding and reliable business) – right connections., 4. Co‐operation from distributors (expanding and reliable business) – right channels., 5. Respect from competitors (setting standards for business excellence) – right strategies. The aim is to create values for all stakeholders. This holistic people‐oriented approach recognizes that, although the world is increasingly driven by high technology, it continues to be influenced and managed by people (customers, workers, suppliers, distributors, competitors). The philosophical core of ICS is action learning and teamwork based on principle‐centred relationships of sincerity, trust and integrity. In the real world, these are the roots of success in relationships and in the bottom‐line results of business. ICS is, in essence, relationship management for synergy. It is based on the premiss that domestic and international commerce is a positive sum game: in the long run everyone wins. Finally, ICS is a paradigm for manufacturing companies coping with change and uncertainty in their search for profit/market share. Time‐honoured values give definition to corporate character; circumstances change, values remain. Poor business operations generally result from human frailty. ICS is predicated on the belief that the quality of human relationships determines the bottom‐line results. ICS attempts to make manifest and explicit the intangible psychological factors for value‐added partnerships. ICS is a dynamic, living, and heuristic‐learning model. There is intelligence in the corporate strategy because it applies commonsense, wisdom, creative systems thinking and synergy to ensure longevity in its corporate life for sustainable competitive advantage.

The purpose of this paper id to examine the successful community development by enabling people to help themselves so that they could increase their career opportunities and recover the fertile natural environment previously lost through overstraining the local ecosystem. Sustainability is of central importance for many countries in the world. Especially developing countries need to strive for sustainability and continuity in their economic, social and political systems. This paper aimed at identifying sustainable human resource development in relation to the Huay Sai Royal Development Project initiated by His Majesty the King Bhumipol Adulyadej of Thailand as a case study.

This study was a case study. Data were collected from documents, interviews and project visits. Then, the analysis was made by document analysis and observation during the study visit, and the information from the interviewees was recorded and transcribed in the Thai language. Some information from the interviews was then added to the analysis to confirm the case that the project had generated sustainable development and encouraged a better life for the local people.

It was found that the nature of people development for sustainability in the project was based on two central themes: people-centered development and whole system-focused development. People-centered development aims to make people succeed in their life. The latter theme aims at helping people become social beings that are willing to place societal concerns before personal interests. This reflected the eastern approach of people development, which puts people and their mindset at the center of development. Other findings pertaining to the methods of people development showed that action learning was a central method of development.

The Sufficiency Economy and people-centered development served as an alternative development path, pursuing balanced growth based on development from within and on the accumulation of knowledge. The main thrust emphasized development from within, self-protection, conservation, caution and moderation, which called for the sustainable use of resources and concern for the social and environmental impact of economic decisions. This contributed to the action learning approach that the success of the project was not only economic returns but also the learning process to which the people engaging in dialogue could share their problems and develop solutions for themselves and for each other.

There were three key success factors that can be seen in the case. First, the development approach was aligned with the lifestyle and local wisdom of the people. Second, this project promoted step-by-step development, beginning with building a good basis for the people at the individual level. Lastly, the initiation of the project stemmed from an in-depth study of the problems in the area and action research, with a closely coupled monitoring system by which feedback was always fed into the study center.

It could be noted that the Sufficiency Economy and people-centered development served as an alternative development path, pursuing balanced growth based on development from within and on the accumulation of knowledge. The main thrust emphasized development from within, self-protection, conservation, caution and moderation, which called for the sustainable use of resources and concern for the social and environmental impact of economic decisions.

The Sufficiency Economy strengthened sustainability as a goal and means of development; the ultimate goal of the development was to develop people to help themselves to become self-reliant. The means of this development were participatory development through a wide variety of methods and the use of local knowledge as a basis for cultivation. Sharing knowledge made people feel more empowered and encouraged them to change their basic attitudes and behaviors. Once people changed their mindset, they became able to enhance their potential. They also had the power to make choices in their life.