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I will start by quoting from two letters I have received from local authority planning departments in recent months:

It has been estimated that in 1980 local government in Britain produced about 50,000 documents. In the same year the British National Bibliography included 42,000 publications and of these a mere 250 emanated from local authorities. This gives a percentage of 0.5 per cent appearance in the BNB and shows the size of the problem.

This chapter critically discusses the many positive aspects that are ascribed to gazelle firms by exploring the external effects and dark sides of high firm growth. On the background of the more general debate on purpose versus profit as a firm’s mission, the chapter theoretically elaborates on the dichotomy between quantitative and qualitative growth of gazelles. This is followed by a case-based illustration and exploration as to how quantitative and qualitative growth interrelates in gazelles and what are impediments for high growth that is purpose driven. The chapter closes with a discussion of the Janus-faced nature of gazelles and how their corporate citizenship can be enhanced.

In this concluding chapter, we draw together the various contributions presented in this volume, discuss the broader implications of our findings, and reflect on how this builds upon Willy Brown's work. The chapter examines how the patchwork of rules has been altered by new and emerging challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of global supply chains and new forms of business. We return to the central objective of this volume of identifying and analysing the viability of various institutions for addressing these challenges and discuss how these might form the basis of a new web of rules for protecting labour standards in the future.

When Theodore Levitt discussed how firms respond to the question “what business are we in?”, he highlighted the myopic perceptions of some because they viewed their business as “running a railroad” or “making films” — rather than being “in the transport or entertainment market”.

More than half of those who are incarcerated have cited a history of drug abuse before or during arrest. Although social science literature has noted the disparate effects of criminal sentencing for drug possession, little research has explored the punitive measures enacted and enforced by the correctional facilities in which prisoners reside.

Using data from the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, this study estimates a series of logistic regressions to examine the predictors of receiving disciplinary action. Men and women are examined separately to investigate whether these patterns vary across men’s and women’s correctional facilities. The notions of both symbolic and structural violence are used to gain a better understanding of the experiences of drug addicts who are incarcerated.

Findings indicate that net of the effect of demographic characteristics and previous contact with the criminal legal system, men who are punished for rule violations involving drugs in prisons are approximately twice as likely to receive disciplinary action than inmates who are disciplined for all infractions, other than assaulting other inmates. Moreover, black inmates are significantly more likely to receive disciplinary actions or sanctions than whites.

The findings suggest that disciplinary action is more frequently experienced by those who are drug dependent or use drugs within prison with an even greater penalty for black prisoners in men’s facilities.

K C Harrison, City Librarian of Westminster since 1961, is to be next year's President of the Library Association. For three years, until 1939, he was Branch Librarian in Coulsdon and Purley and in sequence was then Borough Librarian of Hyde, Cheshire; Hove; and Eastbourne; and Chief Librarian of Hendon before taking up his present post.

SO much interest has been aroused by our Editorial in the July number of The Library World, that we have decided to open a discussion of the project by all librarians who may be interested in the subject. As will be gathered from the communications printed below, the proposal which we made has been received with favour, namely :—That, in order to secure the full value of his magnificent endowed libraries for the public benefit, Mr. Andrew Carnegie should follow his action of creating numerous libraries to a logical conclusion by establishing a College of Librarianship, from which competent officers could be obtained to organise and manage his libraries. Indeed, it is the only practical solution of the difficulty which must presently arise, unless it is Mr. Carnegie's desire that local authorities be left as heretofore, to appoint as librarians any political or local pet who happens to be in the ascendency at the moment.

I would like to begin by taking a general look at the official publications of local authorities, not only at what they are, but also at who uses them and what they are actually used for. In addition, I would like to try to make a rough assessment of the recent attempts to increase access to them, particularly emphasising the positive improvements that have taken place over recent years — and also to try to identify the shortcomings that remain. In examining the changing patterns of the publication of information recently, we should not only look at developments such as the Access to Information Act and the abolition of the Metropolitan County Councils, but also take a wider view, examining, for instance, whether increasing emphasis on value for money techniques in individual local authorities and the aim for objective decision making has altered the information and documentary requirements of local government and the value placed on them. Finally, and most centrally, I would like to look at the existing role played by local government information services in this area, and perhaps speculate on what can be achieved in the future. I would like to approach this by making a number of key points and then, hopefully, we can discuss those you feel of most value. My contribution has the broad title ‘Local government information services’. David Mort of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies will take a look at the information services provided by outside organisations for local authorities. The distinction between our contributions is, I hope, fairly clear and I will attempt to restrict myself to discussing the information services provided by individual local authorities while David will look at the wider scene. There is, of course, a grey area of information services which do not fall exactly within the boundaries of this definition and I will very briefly mention a number of these later, but first it might be useful to begin by having a very brief word about our sponsors. This seminar is a joint venture by the Aslib Planning Environment and Transport Information Group (PETIG) and the Standing Committee on Official Publications (SCOOP). SCOOP was formally set up at the beginning of 1983 and is a direct descendant of the Library Association/HMSO Services Working Party which was established in 1971. It might be helpful if I briefly summarise a number of the formal arrangements under which SCOOP operates in order to set the context for my contribution. The Committee's principal aims relate to UK national and local government official publications and these are to improve access and availability to such documents, to identify and propose solutions to problems of access and to provide mechanisms for the exchange of views between members of the library community on matters of common interest concerning UK official publications.

Implicit within much of the migrant literature is an assumption that migrant flows are primarily motivated by economic differences. However, such an assumption raises three interesting questions. First, why would people wish to leave a country where income levels are relatively high, public services are extensive and the standard of living is well above global averages? Second, what are the socio-cultural attributes that might attract such potential migrant to a new domicile state? Third, how might this be reflected in consumptive attitudes and behaviours within their new domicile state? The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In order to investigate the answer to these questions, a two-stage qualitative research methodology incorporating photographic self-records and in-depth interviews is used to examine UK migrants’ decisions to migrate to New Zealand. Subsequently, the authors examine the celebration of Christmas in New Zealand by UK migrants to better understand meaning creation and re-creation of consumption activities within a new socio-cultural context informed by their decisions to migrate.

Findings suggest that with some lifestyle migrant groups, individualistic values and belief systems appear to play a significant role in determining consumptive attitudes and behaviours in their domicile states.

This research identifies how some migrant groups may adopt a more reflexive approach by undertaking a complex and sophisticated process of self and social identity construction reflective of their individualistic values and belief systems rather than the acceptance or rejection of their domicile culture.