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Focusing upon British retailing, the purpose of this paper is to review what is known both about the importance of different supply networks at different points in time, and about the attitudes of different groups of consumers towards these networks.

Relying primarily upon secondary sources, the paper discusses the ways in which the literature on retailing beyond the shop has developed during the past 40 years, and particularly during the past ten years or so.

The paper shows that although it is difficult to delineate the scale and importance of retailing beyond the shop, there is a growing consensus that shops were by no means the sole, or necessarily dominant, source of supply. It shows too that consumers' attitudes towards both commercial and non‐commercial exchanges were complex and sometimes contradictory, with non‐commercial transactions particularly difficult to disentangle and interpret. However, it should not be assumed, it is suggested, that notions of value and ties of reciprocity inevitably fell victim to the growing forces of industrialisation and urbanisation.

The paper adopts a broad chronological perspective and introduces readers to sources, evidence, ideas and concepts that shed light on British retail development and change.

As the human and financial costs of disasters rise, there are increasing demands for evidence that mitigation “pays”. Until this proof exists, many development organisations remain reluctant to pursue risk reduction as a key objective, or even to protect their own projects against potential hazards.

This paper outlines how such evidence could, in fact, be relatively easily obtained by integrating natural hazard related risks concerns into the design and evaluation of potential projects using standard appraisal and evaluation tools. It shows that there is nothing intrinsically difficult about either appraising risks or monitoring and evaluating the impact of related mitigation measures as part of these broader analyses - if this task is approached thoughtfully and knowledgeably, and adequately resourced.

Provision of appropriate methodological tools is not sufficient in itself, however, to secure improvements in the management of risk. The paper identifies a series of further critical factors that need to be addressed in order to secure long-term commitment to risk reduction, as reflected in the broad policies, objectives and priorities of both governments and development organisations, and actual practice on the ground. In particular, development organisations and governments need to accept greater accountability for disaster-related losses.

The paper is based on the findings of an ongoing ProVention Consortium project, 'Measuring Mitigation': Methodologies for Assessing Natural Hazard Risks and the Net Benefits of Mitigation.

Teacher resignation and transfer is a widely observed phenomenon, both in Australia and overseas. The Victorian state education system is no exception. The reasons for teachers resigning or transferring are varied, but in the main have been accepted by school administrators (both at the central and school level) as a problem inherent to all school systems. The effects however, on students and their education, can be significant. This paper reports the findings of research carried out in Victoria which linked the organisation of individual schools with a teacher's willingness to leave that school. The results indicate strong support for the central hypothesis and thus have important implications for the school administrator. It should, however, be recognised that the findings are not prescriptive in nature; but if taken into account may go some way to improving the conditions under which teachers work and students learn.

The fast‐expanding Benson Group plc announce two new acquisitions — one of which complements their extensive heating manufacturing activities.

The area of sponsorships is examined and their use by business as a form of promotional activity. It has two main objectives: firstly to argue an explicit role for the activity in the promotional mix and secondly to report on research which investigates potential sponsorships as information media. The ultimate purpose of this last exercise is an attempt to throw light on the potential effectiveness of sponsorships as promotional tools and to gather information which may be useful in developing ideas on the evaluation of sponsorships.

The purpose of this paper is to argue that changes in urban retail markets in the first half of the nineteenth century should be viewed as significant innovations in retailing methods.

Retail innovation is set in the context of urban growth, changing consumer demand and product availability. A brief review of the literature leads into a discussion of innovation in non‐shop retailing and of the need for markets to adapt to a changing context. Evidence from local authority archives, particularly Stockport and Birkenhead in Cheshire, is used to explore this in more detail, including the construction of purpose‐built market halls.

Markets remained pivotal to the supply of food and some other goods. They offered a familiar yet controlled and safe environment. But market halls represented a significant innovation in terms of their size and of the money and civic pride invested in them. Local context, including ownership of market rights, was important in determining how markets adapt to urban growth.

Business records of market traders tend not to survive from this period; so, findings have to be derived from more indirect sources. The need for further research into local authority archives is indicated.

The first half of the nineteenth century is a relatively neglected period in recent retail history research. The paper draws attention to innovation in this period. It provides local context for innovations like market halls that are well documented at a general level, but less well researched locally.

JOHN Y. W. MacAlister was a wonderful honorary secretary and accomplished a great deal for the Library Association, obtaining its royal charter among other things. Very progressive in outlook, he was fruitful in suggestion for improving the library service in all sorts of ways, and his far‐reaching influence with important people enabled him to procure favours and concessions such as few others have ever been able to effect. For instance, when the Second International Library Conference was held at the Guildhall of the City of London in 1897, MacAlister secured the whole dress circle of the Lyceum for the delegates to see Sir Henry Irving in one of his most famous performances, and likewise arranged for every delegate to be accepted as an honorary fellow of the Savage Club while the Conference lasted. He read a paper at the Conference too, of which the following is his own characteristic synopsis:—

The purpose of this paper is to determine the merchandise offered and bought at late‐nineteenth‐century English jumble sales, to understand the place of jumble sales and used goods in the domestic budgets of the poors, and to investigate the reasons for purchasing from jumble sales rather than other second‐hand goods outlets.

The paper analyses Anglican Parish Magazines and social surveys, in late‐Victorian England, focusing on two commodities: clothing and carpets.

Jumble sales were organised by the middle and upper classes for the poor, into whose multiple provisioning strategies they were rapidly integrated, although admission fees excluded the poorest. The sales supplied both necessary and non‐essential items and were eagerly attended, but there is no evidence that they were preferred to other second‐hand outlets or that the goods on offer were cheaper or better quality. Although a site of class interaction, jumble sales also served to maintain class separation.

The geographical spread of this paper omits the most southern, northern and western counties. Further work is also needed to determine more precisely the quality and cost of jumble‐sale merchandise, the age and gender of the customers, and differences between urban and rural sales.

Through interrogation of an underused source, parish magazines, the paper redresses the scholarly neglect of a significant and enduring sector of the used goods market. The paper is of value to historians of marketing, philanthropy, consumption, dress, and the English working classes.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate some of the recent progress in the study of the history of retailing, with particular reference to analyses of the British retail market during the twentieth century.

Three themes were addressed, each of which has significant potential to enhance our understanding of the historical development of the retail sector. The paper considered both conceptual and empirical contributions to the discussion on the history of retailing, with particular reference to the business management literature. The approach involved a review of recently published literature.

Whilst there have been a number of important additions of late to the retail history literature, considerable scope remains for engagement with, and contribution to, the theory building taking place within business management.

The author identifies some of the lacunae within research on the history of retailing.

The paper illustrates some of the ways in which the study of retailing history can be productively linked with debates within contemporary studies of business management.