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The authors aim to review a five‐year multi‐study research programme on the role of public dialogue in the social and cultural sustainability of biotechnology developments in New Zealand.

The authors conducted a critical review of all the published research products from a five‐year government‐funded study of the cultural and social aspects of sustainable biotechnology in New Zealand.

The review research highlights how New Zealand Government policies on biotechnology, which motivated the research programme, were fore‐grounded on economic progress and competitive positioning. Thus, debate on sustainable biotechnology issues became cast in economic and technical terms, while public dialogue became seen as diversionary and unsubstantiated. The analysis concludes that the programme was ineffective in influencing government policy and fell victim to the very problem of science governance that its purpose was designed to address.

The research develops implications regarding the ability of government‐funded sustainability research to influence policy.

The review focuses on the purpose, content, outcomes, and context of the research programme and identifies a number of key themes that arose from the programme that are useful for other sustainability policy researchers. The reviewers conclude that this case demonstrates that the marketization of the public sphere depoliticises the social and cultural construction of the nation's future.

A key challenge facing pre‐registration nurse educators is to turn out students who are fit for practice by the end of their training (United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, 1999). This includes developing their understanding of professionalism (Department of Health, 2003; Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2004; 2007). This paper provides an evaluation of a special personal and professional development scheme for mental health student nurses implemented to improve the learning and development process. The scheme required that in addition to individual meetings with personal tutors, students would meet in small groups of 12‐15, every six weeks, facilitated by their personal tutor and a clinician. The meetings provided a space for students to discuss nursing topics, their clinical experiences and performance to improve their understanding of professional standards in their role transition.The outcome was that over 80% of the respondents were satisfied with the structure, facilitation methods, contents, group size and the time allocated for the meetings. They also reported an increase in knowledge and level of understanding, awareness of professional expectations, making better theory‐practice links of learning and becoming more self‐aware. The authors suggest that nurse training departments should collaborate with their clinical partners and adopt a similar framework to help bridge the theory‐practice gap and enhance the transition process from student to qualified practitioner.

This study examines the influence of CEO characteristics on firm innovation within the Australian market, using R&D expenditure as a proxy for innovation. The aim is to analyze how factors such as CEO gender, educational background and dual roles (CEO-chairman) impact firms' R&D investment across various industries.

Panel and Tobit regression models are employed to assess the relationship between CEO characteristics and R&D expenditure. The study controls for endogeneity and applies firm-level control variables to ensure robustness, examining CEO traits like gender, educational qualifications and CEO-chairman duality.

The study reveals that CEO gender and educational level significantly impact firm innovation, particularly R&D expenditure, compared to other characteristics like CEO-chairman duality. Female CEOs and those with PhD degrees are associated with higher R&D spending, with variations across industries such as basic materials and healthcare.

The study is limited by its focus on Australian firms and the time span of 2006–2016. Additionally, mixed results for CEO-chairman duality and CEO location may reduce the generalizability of the findings across all industries on the ASX.

The findings highlight the importance of gender diversity and CEO education in driving firm innovation. Companies aiming to enhance competitiveness and performance through R&D activities, especially in industry-specific contexts, should consider these CEO characteristics.

This study provides novel insights by analyzing the impact of CEO characteristics, such as gender and education level, on firm innovation in the underexplored Australian market. By using R&D expenditure as a proxy for innovation and employing both panel and Tobit regression models, it highlights the significance of CEO traits, particularly in specific industries. The findings emphasize the stronger influence of CEO gender and educational level compared to CEO-chairman duality and location, offering valuable implications for gender diversity and industry-specific innovation strategies in enhancing firm competitiveness.

Since Barker, Gupta, and Iantaffi (2007), in both mainstream cultural products and academic literature dealing with BDSM, there has been an increase in emanations of the “healing narrative,” which suggests that BDSM practices offer therapeutic potential. However, no significant attempt has been made to explore in greater detail the problematic relationship between this healing narrative and the history of pathologization of sadomasochistic desires and practices. Barker et al. (2007) rightly point out that in suggesting BDSM has healing potential, one runs the risk of implying that individuals who practice BDSM are in need of healing to begin with. This could be damaging to the image of BDSM, which after centuries of pathologization finally appears to be moving into a realm of acceptability. However, the experiences of BDSM practitioners who describe their practices as healing should not be discounted and could actually help to cultivate a more positive reputation, which makes the issue a political one. In this chapter, through an exploration of the concept of “healing” in cultural objects such as the film Secretary (2002, directed by Steven Shainberg) and the Showtime cable television series Billions (2016–present), this issue will be investigated further, leading to a way out of the apparent double bind. The aim is to come to an understanding of the therapeutic potential of BDSM, which would not only reframe the discourse of pathologization surrounding BDSM but also further the political goal of creating space for BDSM practitioners to explore their desires without having to experience stigmatization.

This article examines relationships between capitalism and democracy as perceived by contending perspectives within the liberal capitalist‐liberal democratic tradition(s). Bentham and the Mills are taken as initiating both this tradition and the core elements of the debate within it. Pre‐Benthamite theories are first reviewed. Then, after discussion of Bentham and James Mill and of John Stuart Mill, Mill's late nineteenth and early twentieth century successors are examined. We then go on to consider hypotheses concerning the “exceptional” quality of relationships between capitalism and democracy in the United States. The penultimate section of the article adumbrates the main contours of mid‐twentieth century pluralist‐elitist theories. We conclude with a summary.

A dinner was held at the Café Royal on Tuesday, January 10th to celebrate the completion of forty years' existence by the British Food Journal and the British Analytical Control. A number of eminent people were present, and complimentary references were made to the invaluable services which the Journal and the Control had rendered in assisting in the suppression of adulteration and in giving authentic indication of genuineness.