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The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which institutional convergence has taken place in the new European Union (EU) member states. It does so by contrasting arguments that are inspired by transaction‐cost economics within the mainstream international‐business literature and contentions within the comparative‐capitalisms perspective. A corollary of arguments within the former is that those countries that have less transparent ways of doing business will post poorer economic growth records than those with more predictable and less costly regulations. By contrast, contentions within the comparative‐capitalisms literature lead to expectations that a broader set of institutional factors will shape economic growth.

The article adopts a fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis approach to examine the necessary and sufficient causal conditions for economic growth in the region.

There is a great deal of institutional diversity within the new EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe. There are no clusters of countries around a specific variety of capitalism or an economic model that has above‐average economic growth rates and that is characterized by institutions that lower the costs of market transacting. This, in turn, suggests that convergence pressures are not as great as the mainstream international‐business literature has argued.

Future research could complement this study by adopting a cross‐country, comparative micro‐ or firm‐level approach to examine the ways in which different institutional factors, both individually and collectively, shape the growth of businesses and consequently, economies.

Mainstream international business tends to focus on regulation and market‐supporting institutions to explain growth in developing economies. This research has shown that a broader view of institutions needs to be adopted, as some countries have been able to post strong economic growth figures despite institutional environments that do not lower the costs of market‐based contracting.

This paper aims to assess the extent to which convergence in institutional regimes is likely to occur, by examining all ten new EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of their development of comparative advantages in high‐tech export markets either by drawing on foreign investors in the form of multinational companies or by making use of domestic institutional resources.

The article uses fuzzy sets and qualitative comparative analysis to examine both necessary and sufficient causes of success in high‐tech export markets. By doing so, it can address the important issue of institutional complementarity.

While it finds that countries that have stronger records in such markets share common features, there are also important differences between them – not least in the areas of employee relations. This, together with other evidence presented in the paper, suggests that convergence around a specific institutional model is unlikely to happen.

Analysing, unlike many previous studies, all ten new EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe enables conclusions to be drawn that apply to the whole region. The novel method used in this article means that the extent of any complementarity between different institutions can be addressed, and ensures that issues relating to convergence/divergence are explored. The article, therefore, contributes to a number of important debates on the convergence among types of capitalism, the dependency of the new EU member states on foreign investors, and the institutional foundations for success in high‐tech export markets.

The Conference of the Library Association, which took place at T Bristol, on September 25th to 2Sth, 1900, will be remembered chiefly as a highly successful and enjoyable series of social events, for which the local arrangements were admirable. The atmosphere of the old city itself, with its memories of Cabot, Chatterton, the Slave Trade, and John Silver, to name only the more romantic, threw a glamour over the whole meeting, and the consequence was that, even the small rump of practicality which had been added to the proceedings for the look of the thing, was absorbed in the interest of the surroundings. Who was going to waste time, had there been any to waste, discussing the value of abstract lectures on—say bees, to public librarians, when, outside in the fresh, open air, dainty bands of Red Maids challenged attention, and the magnificent gorge of Clifton fascinated every lover of books and nature ? It was putting too great a strain upon the enthusiasm of members to expect them to forsake the beauties of a fine city for a bare and flavourless hash of papers which would do little credit to the smallest local branch of the Association. We do not in any way reflect upon the literary ability of most of the papers presented, which was uniformly high, nor upon their antiquarian interest, which, again, was great ; but we must deny the utility of most of the papers which were read, as incentives to discussion, or as in any way forwarding the main cause for which the Library Association was formed. Fourteen papers were put down for discussion, and of these only five had any direct connection with library work. Three others had a certain bearing upon the work of libraries established under the Public Libraries' Acts, while the remaining six were papers of local or literary interest. We do not complain so much about the composition of the programme, as against the cutting down of the time allotted to the discussions. If the whole business of the meeting had been to discuss the papers of Messrs. Aldred (“ book Selection and Rejection ”); Hulme (“ Principles of Dictionary Subject Cataloguing”); and Doubleday and Quinn (“Dictionary versus Classified Catalogues”), and nothing else, the time of the Conference would not have been frittered away as it was, but the Cataloguing papers were never even reached, while the one on “ Book Selection ” only survived to the discussion stage, because its author had the foresight to have it printed in advance. Next year the Council will, perhaps, organise afternoon sessions on questions pertaining to library work, for those who have no particular interest in the manufacture of soap, linoleum, or tobacco.

This chapter focusses primarily on the short-term measures and policy reactions of transport operators and regulators to the COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2020/2021 (such as the introduction of physical distancing and mask wearing) but also considers those policies which directly influence public transport (such as parking management and working from home). Emphasis is placed on the experience in a number of jurisdictions to identify the influence of varying governmental level responses to the pandemic. The approaches of different jurisdictions are compared using a narrative approach to help identify policy narrative elements by policy actors as the pandemic unfolded. Such an approach enables us to focus on how decision-makers can learn from the COVID-19 experience to better react to future unexpected incidents. In identifying the future policy implications and challenges, the chapter suggests that strategic planning will need to respond to both the ‘current normal’ and the ‘next normal’, and will require flexibility and tight integration between urban planning and public transport planning, as well as private transport and long-distance transport. The chapter also highlights the importance of learning from the experience of other jurisdictions and disciplines (such as disaster management) and offers suggestions for further research.

We are informed that at a recent meeting of representatives of some important learned societies a resolution was adopted by an overwhelming majority that Public Libraries should have no connection with the custody of Local Records.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of characteristics of capitalism on environmental performance.

The authors analyzed a sample of 6,257 companies, based in 55 countries and 8 typologies of capitalism. The independent variables are the characteristics of capitalism, measured through five indicators: cooperation between employees and employers, index of economic freedom, local competition between industries, human development index (HDI) and quality of the governance environment. To measure environmental performance, the authors created an index composed of 20 indicators. Data were analyzed using panel data regression and dynamic panel of the generalized method of moments.

The results indicate that the characteristics of capitalism can shape the environmental behavior of companies. The authors find that in countries with better cooperation between employees and employers, more economic freedom, and competition between firms, in addition to better HDI and national governance, companies have higher environmental performance. When they are in more developed countries, companies have a greater environmental performance.

Managers must consider the country's characteristics of capitalism when making their environmental decisions and strategies. The findings invite governments to incorporate into their regulations mechanisms to protect other interest groups, not just shareholders.

Few studies have examined environmental performance, which is less susceptible to greenwashing. The metric for environmental performance measures the company's concrete effort in relation to environmental issues and not just the disclosure of information. Additionally, the authors examine characteristics of capitalism supported by Varieties of Capitalism, an approach still little explored in the environmental management.

IN a preface of Smiles' you will find the statement: “Without exaggerating the importance of this class of biography, it may at least be averred that it has not yet received its due share of attention.” The truth of this statement holds good to‐day. That our national industries lie at the root of national progress is recognized by library authorities, inasmuch as efforts are continually made to bring into prominence books on the useful and industrial arts, without, however, bringing under public notice biographies bearing very closely on the history and development of certain British trades and industries. There may be a feeling that this “class” falls under the head of “lives of very great inherent importance indeed, but which appeal to comparatively small circles of readers, from the large demand they make upon the possession of special culture or knowledge.” In point of fact, accounts of industrial processes (be they ever so clearly written) have little fascination for the general reader, but the lives of men who have created or developed those industries seldom lack incident and romance, and thereby appeal to the popular mind. On the ground of its democratic character, industrial biography deserves the librarian's attention —life‐records in most cases of men “ignorant of letters; without art; without eloquence; who yet had the wisdom to devise and the courage to perform that which they lacked language to express.”

Work participation and work facilitation represent basic human rights for everyone. Work represents an important platform for welfare and well-being, but compared to the general workforce in Norway, persons with cognitive disabilities are severely under-represented. When workplaces locked down under the first COVID-19 outbreak spring 2020, some people were made redundant whilst many continued their work from home. The lockdown affected persons with cognitive disabilities through lockdown of workplaces, vocational training centres and even day activity centres. The scheme of working from home was not as obvious or facilitated for this group, as for other employees. When also visits were banned and common areas for socialisation were locked down, the consequences of these lockdowns were exacerbated. In this chapter we have examined and discussed the COVID-19 restrictions in Norway and how they affected the basic human rights of persons with cognitive disabilities, and also how such rights can be promoted through legislation, governance and service provision.

The purpose of this study is to share the experience of delivering a culturally responsive teaching program, the R.E.F.O.R.M. Café, at a historically Black college and university. The R.E.F.O.R.M. Café provided an opportunity for undergraduate students to participate in dialogue that reinforces the need for social justice in preserving Black lives. Before participating in the R.E.F.O.R.M. Café, lectures using a critical perspective to connect health to the history of the modern-day civil rights movement were conducted.

Using the World Café as a model, a qualitative methodology was used to implement the R.E.F.O.R.M. Café as part of community health education course curriculum to address health disparities plaguing Black communities. The breakout room function in Zoom was used to substitute for the tables used in traditional World Cafés because of COVID-19 restrictions, which allowed for small, focus-group-like dialogues to occur.

The R.E.F.O.R.M. Café challenged students to consider the power and opportunity for individuals on the front line to contest racial disparities. Students indicated the R.E.F.O.R.M. Café reinforced the importance of meaningful conversations, the connection to confronting health disparities and the effectiveness of program design and implementation to engage in dialogue around issues of race and equity. Students indicated the importance of hearing the perspective of peers when considering their personal identities as change agents.

This paper contributes to the literature that extends the body of knowledge related to implementing culturally responsive teaching programs at a historically Black college and university. Studies currently available related to implementing culturally responsive teaching programs among undergraduate students do not focus specifically on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether Hofstede’s cultural dimensions have a significant relationship with ethical decision-making among tax practitioners while performing their duties in ensuring tax compliance among taxpayers.

A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from tax practitioners in the state of Terengganu, Malaysia. Two hundred questionnaires were distributed via Google Forms and email to tax practitioners who were selected from the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia website using a mixture of systematic random and snowball sampling approaches. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences software program was used to analyse the collected data.

The results show that power distance (PD), individualism (IND) and uncertainty avoidance (UAV) have a significant relationship with ethical decision-making, whereas masculinity (MAS) has no significant relationship with ethical decision-making among tax practitioners while carrying out their duties. The positive relationship of PD and of IND with decision-making behaviour indicates that ethical decision-making is highly practised in a low PD and low IND culture rather than in a high PD and high IND culture. In contrast, UAV shows a negative beta sign, which indicates that tax practitioners tend to practise ethical decision-making in a high UAV culture.

This study fills a gap in the literature in regard to the influence of culture on tax compliance particularly among tax practitioners in Malaysia. The study shows how culture is related to the decision-making practices of tax practitioners while performing their role as an intermediary between their clients and the government. It is worthwhile to examine the decision-making of tax practitioners because the results of such an examination not only provide some insights into the professional practices of accountants that will be of interest to the relevant authorities such as the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, they also offer some information that will be of assistance to higher learning institutions in formulating accounting programmes to produce the future generation of accountants.