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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that affect the responsiveness of new housing supply to price changes in Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the USA. The practical purpose is to identify and consider the similarities and differences in the factors that affect new housing supply amongst the selected countries.

Quantitative estimates of the price elasticity of new housing supply were reviewed and evaluated. Generally they were found to describe and measure but not explain variations in housing supply responses to house price changes. Qualitative research was undertaken based on case study interviews with experienced senior managers of house‐building firms with the objective of obtaining insights into the variables affecting housing supply in each country.

First, quantitative studies provide necessary but insufficient explanation of the factors determining new housing supply. Second, there are a large number of macro‐economic, micro‐economic and institutional factors that explain new housing supply which appear to vary in absolute and relative importance between countries.

The primary research findings are based on a small number of case study interviews. Further work is required to confirm the insights using more interviews and/or large‐scale surveys. The work could also be undertaken at other times in different market conditions.

Factors explaining variations in new housing supply in each country have been shown to vary amongst countries. Policy makers can address these factors in achieving balance between supply and demand, and in understanding what needs to be done to increase new housing supply.

The research demonstrates the value of adopting a pluralist methodology in measuring and explaining the causes of variations in new housing supply.

Whereas most societal commentators continue to review the historical patterns of men’s leadership in search of models for 21st-century success, few have begun to recognize, let alone appreciate, the equivalent patterns of women’s leadership and the future contributions that women could potentially make as leaders. What could and are women bringing to society as global leaders? Why at this moment in history is there such a marked increase in the number of women leaders? Are we entering an era in which both male and female leaders will shape history, both symbolically and in reality? And if so, will we discover that women, on average, lead in different ways than men, or will we learn that role (global leader) explains more than gender? This chapter reveals the accelerating trends of women joining men in senior leadership positions, establishes the relationship of women leaders to our overall understanding of global leadership, and sets forth an agenda to accomplish much needed research and understanding.

THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTION, though not the only one, has been made by Scottish authors, both by the well‐known ones, such as R. L. Stevenson and J. M. Barrie, in whose work their Scottish origin has played its part, and by others, like Norman Macleod and Ian Maclaren, whose reputation scarcely extended outside their native country or has been since forgotten.

Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the Afro‐American experience and to show the joys, sorrows, needs, and ideals of the Afro‐American woman as she struggles from day to day.

Catherine Althaus, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the University of Victoria in Canada. Her present research interests focus on public policy and public administration as well as bioethics, leadership in the public service, and the interface between politics and religion. She teaches online courses in the Master of Public Administration and Master of Arts in Community Development programs.

The result of our enquiries (see April issue Library World) as to the present storage of local documents in Public Libraries or Museums, and the existing arrangements therein for their preservation is somewhat disappointing. Some librarians have not replied, and some give scanty information.

Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Term. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.

This paper aims to highlight the role of consumption communities as a self-help support group to ameliorate loneliness. The authors suggest that the self-help element of consumption communities has been overlooked because of a focus on communities pursuing hegemonic masculinity. Instead, the authors focus on a female-led and – dominated consumption community.

A longitudinal ethnography was undertaken with the aim of understanding consumer behaviour in a “hyper-feminine” environment. Participant observation, depth interviews and netnography were carried out over five years within the Knitting community, focussing on an Irish Stitch ‘n’ Bitch group.

A dimension of consumption communities has been overlooked in the extant literature; this female-led and -dominated community functions as a self-help support group used as a “treatment” for loneliness. It also demonstrates all the characteristics of a support group.

This study offers a framework with which new studies of community consumption can be examined or existing studies can be re-examined, through rather than cases of loneliness and self-help support groups.

Marketers have an opportunity to build supportive consumption communities that provide a safe space for support where commerce and brand-building can also occur. Groups aimed at ameliorating loneliness may wish to consider integration of the consumption community model.

Calls have been made for a reconceptualisation of consumption communities as current typologies seem inadequate. This paper responds with a critical examination through the lens of the self-help support group, while also taking steps towards resolving the gender imbalance in the consumption community literature. The paper explores loneliness, a previously underexamined motivator for consumption community membership.

The library services we provide today are built on the skill, energy and vision of earlier generations of librarians; yet most of these pioneers remain unknown. Examines the career of Butler Wood, librarian at Bradford for 50 years, 41 of them as chief librarian. In addition to the successful development of a major municipal library, he developed art gallery and museum services; was a founder member and contributor to many literary, historical and cultural organizations; he influenced the development of reference and rural libraries; and he contributed to the growth of the library profession itself. An appreciation of this visionary scholar/ administrator can provide inspiration today.