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The management of children′s literature is a search for value and suitability. Effective policies in library and educational work are based firmly on knowledge of materials, and on the bibliographical and critical frame within which the materials appear and might best be selected. Boundaries, like those between quality and popular books, and between children′s and adult materials, present important challenges for selection, and implicit in this process are professional acumen and judgement. Yet also there are attitudes and systems of values, which can powerfully influence selection on grounds of morality and good taste. To guard against undue subjectivity, the knowledge frame should acknowledge the relevance of social and experiential context for all reading materials, how readers think as well as how they read, and what explicit and implicit agendas the authors have. The good professional takes all these factors on board.

The report of the Departmental Committee on the Irish butter industry to the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland was issued on March 23 as a parliamentary paper. Mr. J. R. CAMPBELL was chairman of the Committee, and the other members were Mr. T. CARROLL, Mr. E. G. HAYGARTH‐BROWN, Lord CARRICK, and Mr. A. POOLE WILSON, with Mr. D. J. MCGRATH as secretary. The Committee were appointed:—

In a previous article we have called attention to the danger of eating tinned and bottled vegetables which have been coloured by the addition of salts of copper and we have urged upon the public that no such preparations should be purchased without an adequate guarantee that they are free from copper compounds. Copper poisoning, however, is not the only danger to which consumers of preserved foods are liable. Judging from the reports of cases of irritant poisoning which appear with somewhat alarming frequency in the daily press, and from the information which we have been at pains to obtain, there can be no question that the occurrence of a large number of these cases is to be attributed to the ingestion of tinned foods which has been improperly prepared or kept. It is not to be supposed that the numerous cases of illness which have been ascribed to the use of tinned foods were all cases of metallic poisoning brought about by the action of the contents of the tins upon the metal and solder of the latter. The evidence available does not show that a majority of the cases could be put down to this cause alone; but it must be admitted that the evidence is in most instances of an unsatisfactory and inconclusive character. It has become a somewhat too common custom to put forward the view that so‐called “ptomaine” poisoning is the cause of the mischief; and this upon very insufficient evidence. While there is no doubt that the presence in tinned goods of some poisonous products of decomposition or organic change very frequently gives rise to dangerous illness, so little is known of the chemical nature and of the physiological effects of “ptomaines” that to obtain conclusive evidence is in all cases most difficult, and in many, if not in most, quite impossible. A study of the subject leads to the conclusion that both ptomaine poisoning and metallic poisoning—also of an obscure kind—have, either separately or in conjunction, produced the effects from time to time reported. In view of the many outbreaks of illness, and especially, of course, of the deaths which have been attributed to the eating of bad tinned foods it is of the utmost importance that some more stringent control than that which can be said to exist at present should be exercised over the preparation and sale of tinned goods. In Holland some two or three years ago, in consequence partly of the fact that, after eating tinned food, about seventy soldiers were attacked by severe illness at the Dutch manœuvres, the attention of the Government was drawn to the matter by Drs. VAN HAMEL ROOS and HARMENS, who advocated the use of enamel for coating tins. It appears that an enamel of special manufacture is now extensively used in Holland by the manfacturers of the better qualities of tinned food, and that the use of such enamelled tins is insisted upon for naval and military stores. This is a course which might with great advantage be followed in this country. While absolute safety may not be attainable, adequate steps should be taken to prevent the use of damaged, inferior or improper materials, to enforce cleanliness, and to ensure the adoption of some better system of canning.

Purpose – In accordance to the globalized and competitive environment, traditional manufacturing sectors’ companies are being particularly forced to reshape their global strategy and reconfigurate their activities to survive. Due to the fact that these firms present special characteristics that make the change extremely difficult, this chapter tries to analyze the influence of managerial attitudes and characteristics on the decision of their international strategy.

Methodology/approach – The study was carried out in Spanish traditional manufacturing sectors through a questionnaire, obtaining a final sample of 115 SMEs. We performed a cluster analyses to classify groups of companies, innovative and rigid, and assessed their different perceptions and characteristics.

Findings – Our results show that the adoption of these new models of internationalization is indeed related to the attitude and characteristics of managers. We found that more innovative strategies are associated with managers with intermediate experience in business, higher education levels, and a more realistic perception of the severity of the situation, the influence of the environment, and its strategic capabilities.

Practical implications – This chapter evidences that there are still important internal barriers affecting the international competitiveness of these companies. We propose that more traditional strategies of internationalization in the manufacturing sectors should move toward more complex models that combine the advantages of the cooperation, multilocation, diversification, and integration of those key activities of the value chain. Therefore, we display the critical role of managers’ profile in this process.

Originality/value of the chapter – Despite the fact that many works have analyzed the determinants of strategic change, we offer a wider view considering the essential role of managers, by combining demographic and perception variables. Furthermore, we based this idea on the theoretical perspective known as managerial cognition; therefore, we give new explanatory factors on the decision of the international strategy.

Since the creation of the trivium and quadrivium as the core for a post- secondary education, education itself has undergone substantive change, particularly since the end of the eighteenth century. Unspoken is the change in the population seeking such advanced knowledge, as well as the idea that the original elements might be recast as liberal studies and STEM (science/technology/engineering/mathematics); unspoken, too, are the ramifications. This paper aims to discuss these issues.

The increased emphasis on STEM and its applications has reduced funding for liberal studies, leading to the potential for seriously reducing the perceived importance of the humanities and related liberal studies. This creates a feedback loop, as the increasing cost of education shifts the focus towards “practical” knowledge.

As with the trivium and quadrivium, where it was expected that the latter was focused on work-related skills, there may be an increasing split in society between those who have the fiscal resources and obtain a liberal education, and the balance who enter the applied professions, amplifying the increasing socioeconomic gap in today's society. It also becomes problematic for members of society to effectively participate in the political process.

An innovative look at the need for liberal education in the modern world.

The paper aims to assess the impact of corporate strategy on shareholder value in decline and turnaround situations.

A sample of 45 turnaround firms was selected and matched against a control sample which did not face continuous decline over the time period studied. The impact of corporate strategy on shareholder value was tested using cumulative beta excess return measures to capture the long‐term basis of corporate strategy.

The paper finds that the beta excess return measures captured the hypothesized relationships between strategy and shareholder value for the sample firms studied.

Beta excess return measures are superior to case studies or event studies for identifying the long‐term effects of corporate strategy.

Relatively few studies have compared the strategies of turnaround firms with a matched sample of non‐declining firms. The use of cumulative beta excess returns to assess long‐term valuation of corporate strategy is original.

IN December, 1964, Messrs. A. G. Sheppard Fidler and Associates, of Epsom, were commissioned by the Epsom and Ewell Borough Council to prepare a project design for a new building on a six‐acre site in Ewell, to house:—

This article aims to comment on how the empirical research on board effectiveness in crisis contexts has been evolving over time. Over the years, the empirical evidences have demonstrated that particular board features can improve the survival chances of firms suffering a crisis and, to date, experts agree that discussing these evidences is necessary for the further improvement of knowledge in this field.

This is a critical review article.

Valuable evidences emerge from the review. For example, it seems that board independence has a key role in enhancing the performance of firms suffering a crisis. At the same time, the review suggests that further refinement is needed for supporting (or eventually refuting) the idea that boards and/or Chief Executive Officers (1) must be replaced to achieve successful turnaround strategies.

On the basis of its findings, the review also prospects a number of conceptual and methodological implications for the future research and practice about board effectiveness in corporate crises. For example, these implications are associated with future investigations about the executives’ sociodemographic features and personality traits as well. More international comparisons seem also needed to improve the reliability of the extant knowledge.

Most studies of crisis management and business failure are based on research in western economic situations and assume western institutional patterns and attitudes. These assume that certain fundamental elements of financial rationality guide the intervention of banks and financial institutions in situations of incipient business failure. This study is based on an empirical analysis of companies in the GCC region of companies which are clients of banks which operate within the frameworks of the Islamic Banking System in the Arab Middle East. A “sharp‐bending” orientation rather than a “business failure” model is used and conclusions are reached about the role of the banks and other financial institutions and their methods of managing difficult client situations. Some typical situations relating to problem loans, loan officers’ responses and behaviour and out comes are reviewed. The role of the bank in triggering early problem‐recognition is described and the response of the bank, subsequent actions and the sequence of recovery are described. Procedures and actions which would be regarded as “irrational” in a western cultural context are interpretable as “rational” within different cultural frameworks. We argue that there is no one universally‐accepted frame work of business rationality, and that “financial rationalities” are the product of deeply‐embedded cultural frames of reference.

Most researchers have found that property crimes have a local focus: offenders tend to operate in the vicinity of their residence. This has led the police to organise themselves to concentrate their resources in highly populated, urban areas. Over the last decade mobile property offenders have been found in various Western European countries that differ from this norm. These groups of mainly Eastern European multiple offenders engaging in property crime tend to travel further than other offenders. As such, their operations differ from most criminals, challenging the way the police are organised and undermining criminological theories on journey to crime. The aim of this paper is to look at the specificity of mobility patterns of these groups, to examine the precise interpretation of their mobility and to consider the implications.

The paper uses the Belgian police database containing all serious property crimes in Belgium for the period 2002‐2006. Some basic offender characteristics have been identified and for these offenders journey‐to‐crime patterns have been established.

Eastern European multiple offending groups tend to commit their crimes in rural areas. Although they start their journey in regions considered “crime importing”, they carry out their crimes in “crime exporting” areas. As such, they are atypical, challenging traditional theories on journey‐to‐crime and the way in which police forces are organised.

Observing a special group is one thing, but explaining these differences is another. Further research is needed, in particular with regard to the motivational aspects for these offenders.

Whereas most researchers have found crime (including property crime) to be mainly local, the present research focuses on more mobile offenders. The challenges that these groups create for law enforcement authorities make it important for them and their patterns of activity to be understood.