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The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of environmental management initiatives in the furniture retail area. The specific aim is to present reflections of participants implementing environmental initiatives in an Australian furniture retailer, Living Edge, in alignment with a secondary snapshot of environmental initiatives from other furniture retailers.

Primary reflections from the retailer’s manager and external consultant, both involved in the implementation of environmental initiatives, are enriched with secondary review of environmental management system trends and examples from regions active in the designer furniture sector, including Europe, Southeast Asia and North America.

An integrated view has been distilled around environmental impact in the furniture supply chain and consumer pressure to minimise the impact. Stakeholders require furniture retailers to improve efficiency and profitability amid the countervailing market demand for environmental sustainability. Retailers may seek competitive advantage through effectively applied and communicated environmental management. The voluntary adoption of systems, international standards and innovative practices that conserve natural resources are amongst the key to success. A live case example of Australian experience is added to the knowledge base for the global retail furniture industry.

One Australian retailer is exemplified to highlight the lived experiences of implementing environmental initiatives. The secondary global review presents a cross-section rather than an in-depth analysis of furniture sector retailers.

There are limited Australian perspectives of designer furniture and its intersection with environmental issues, thus, the paper addresses this gap in the literature and adds to informed practice in a global industry.

Reports on an effort to implement good practices in learning evaluation. Reviews learning evaluation practices and gathers data using a dedicated software system. Demonstrates learning takes place within complex social systems populated by a multiplicity of factors that influence perceptions of learning and performance outcomes. Argues that technology enables cost‐effective evaluations to be implemented that encompass a broad spectrum of influencing variables and acknowledge the empowered status of the learner. Discusses the implications for evaluation methodologies and the role of trainers within organisations.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges facing the higher education system in Egypt particularly in the area of education quality. It builds upon several existing studies conducted in Egypt to make the case for improving education outcomes while analyzing the social, political, and economic ramifications of the current higher education system.

Samples were drawn from existing studies conducted in Egypt by experts in the education field.

Results suggest that the higher education admissions process should become more competitive thereby limiting the number of enrollments. More resources should be devoted towards higher education with a particular emphasis on workforce development and Egypt should seek the help of donor agencies and experts to advise and reform the system.

The findings were based on existing literature and were not conducted in Egypt which somewhat limited qualitative analysis.

A contribution is made to the literature as the research reinforces the view that the lack of quality in the higher education system fails to prepare graduates to the workforce and impacts on the social stability of Egypt. By questioning aspects of the current higher education system and calling for more freedom of research and expression, the research raises interesting questions about the impact of closed societies on education systems.

IN 1896 an early printed Missale speciale was discovered in the collection of Ludwig Rosenthal of Munich. Two years later appeared a thirty‐paged pamphlet, entitled Ein Missale speciale, Vorläufer des Psalteriums von 1457, from the pen of Herr Otto Hupp. Soon after the publication of this pamphlet an abbreviated missal, illustrated with a wood‐cut, was found in the Benedictine Monastery of Lavanthal, in Carinthia. Towards the end of last year, as a consequence of this further discovery, Herr Hupp issued a second work of ninety‐eight folio pages, entitled Gutenberg's erste Druke, in which he developed the theory, first embodied in his former pamphlet, that the Missale speciale and the Missale Abbreviation are earlier examples of Gutenberg's work than the Psalmorum Codex, the Mazarin or forty‐two‐line Bible, or even the thirty‐one‐line indulgence of 1454, which is generally attributed to him. These two treatises have sprung a learned squabble in German and other continental bibliogaphical circles. Dr. Gottfried Zedler, of Wiesbaden, has constituted himself champion of the opponents of the theory, and the chief parties in the quarrel have just fought the matter out in the pages of the Centraiblatt für Bibliothekswesen.

This paper aims to respond to a number of pleas for interdisciplinary – or integrative – approaches to psychology and criminology in exploring the value of simultaneously applying micro and macro analytical tools.

The study reported in this paper applies both the revised psychopathy checklist (PCL‐R) and structural analysis to the historical case of Mary Ann Cotton, a nineteenth century British serial killer.

Findings suggest that multi‐level approaches to analysis are valuable in developing holistic understandings into serial murder, which are appreciative of both the psychological characteristics of the individual offender and their location in the broader social and historical context. Micro analysis would now label Cotton a psychopath, but we need to broaden the analysis and to consider macro questions related to gender, poverty and the wider social structure in which Cotton operated.

In the absence of an interview with the offender, this study has supplemented alternative materials and as such, prompts debate into the application of contemporary tools to historical cases.

The findings imply that the application of PCL‐R alongside structural analytical tools reveals more in‐depth and socially rooted insights into the study of historical cases of serial murder and as such, provide a valuable addition to both criminological and the psychological methodology frameworks.

This research prompts academic debate within psychology and criminology into the potential value of a combined, integrative approach to historical cases drawing upon both micro and macro analytical tools.

The decade of the 1980s was unique for the sheer quantity of education reform reports and legislation. Virtually every state enacted education reform legislation, including reforms of teacher education, licensing, and comprehension. According to Darling‐Hammond and Berry, over 1,000 pieces of legislation related to teachers have been drafted since 1980, and “a substantial fraction have been implemented.” As I discussed in my 1989 RSR article, “Five Years after A Nation at Risk: An Annotated Bibliography,” two waves of 1980s reform reports were identified in the enormous body of primary and secondary literature dealing with education reform. The reform publications of the early 1980s stressed improvements in curricular standards, student performance outcomes, and changes to the education programs, such as salary increases, teacher testing, and stricter certification requirements. The second‐wave reform publications emphasized more complex issues centered around the concepts of restructuring the schools and teacher education programs, as well as empowering teachers to become more involved in curriculum and governance issues.

This paper aims to explore Chinese female international students’ construction of global citizenship identity by examining their accumulation of cultural capital in different forms from transnational higher education in the UK.

Participant observations and in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with Chinese female international students at a British university to explore their experiences with transnational higher education, cultural identities, the construction of global citizenship and perceived future job opportunities.

In this research, participants revealed that accessing a global elite university helps them accumulate institutionalised cultural capital. Embodied cultural cultivation acquired from transnational higher education is justified by students’ experiences in the context of transnational higher education. Rising confidence is shown by the participants’ narration and global-oriented awareness, which is their ability to understand and respect people from diverse cultural backgrounds, which was developed during their studies in the UK. However, they still realise the potentially difficult conversion of cultural capital to real job competitiveness. Recognition of global citizenship identity may be complicated if students plan to return home after studying.

This study provides further insight into the single-child generation of globally mobile Chinese female international students. Participants were aware of the positive accumulation of cultural capital in its embodied and institutionalised forms obtained from the UK higher education system and its contribution to the construction of global citizenship identity. However, the newly constructed global citizenship identity remains complex. Participants question the extent to which the new identity fits into the Chinese social context if they decide to return home.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, the originality of the paper lies in expanding the global citizenship framework with the specific application of Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital to show Chinese female international students’ study experiences in UK transnational higher education, rather than addressing the Chinese international student experience in general.

DO THE GIRLS of the Mary Erskine School in Edinburgh remember that the teaching staff once included—in the days when it was known at Queen Street Ladies' College—a writer of considerable distinction? James Logie Robertson was his name, but his works appeared with the pen‐name ‘Hugh Haliburton’.

The 1980s brought some fundamental changes to American public schools. The first wave of reform stressed academic rigor and teacher accountability, while the second wave emphasized professionalization. This emphasis resulted in the Professional Development School (PDS). The Holmes Group prioritized the relationship between teachers and principals, and partnerships between teachers, principals, and university faculty for the improvement of teaching and learning. From this PDS purpose identified by the Holmes Group, this pilot study examines the perceived effectiveness of PDS on teachers’ practice as realized by a purposeful sample of Midwest PDS teachers and principals. PDS has improved teacher practice in several areas. However, teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of teacher practice are not congruent. The teacher, administrator, and university faculty relationship has potential to improve teaching and learning, but it has yet to be realized.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how trust, honesty and transparency impact the willingness and timeliness of communicating financial information between Government Finance Officers (GFOs) and members of the municipal boards they serve.

Survey data was collected from professionals who work with municipalities to ensure government resources are properly managed. Nonparametric local-linear regression was used to analyze the data.

Evidence suggests that trust in the board, GFO preference for honesty and greater transparency of the municipality influence the timeliness of communication. There is evidence that when the GFO and board members have a working relationship built on trust and the GFO has a preference for honesty, the GFO is more willing to share positive information with the board. In addition, there is evidence that with greater transparency and trust in the board, there is a reduction in the time of sharing positive information in situations where there is little discretion in disclosing and less willingness to share information.

A principal limitation of this study is the small sample size. In addition, the study was conducted using only participants from the pool of members of the Government Finance Officers Association of Texas. As an exploratory study, the survey included a minimal number of questions to gather data from actual GFOs and included only six possible scenarios. The time constraint resulted in a reduced number of questions related to the models used. Other limitations include the potential of missing variables, factors or perceptions related to scenarios not presented in the survey instrument.

The findings suggest that with greater transparency, there is less time between the event and the GFO communication to the board providing the opportunity to improve the effectiveness of the decision-making process.

This study is the first to explore the effects of increased transparency on the level of communication between the GFO and the board.