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Historical research suggests that English monarchs at the start of the early modern era (ca. 1500‐1800) followed a communication model this paper tentatively names “instructional”, characterised by one‐way communication intended to instruct the public in a correct worldview and to coach proper behaviour. There is evidence that this instructional model segued into recognisably modern models as the English Crown lost power between the reigns of Elizabeth I and George III, suggesting a link between the sender’s power and the communication techniques the sender employed.

The paper introduces a new model, the evolutionary-existential model of organizational decision-making. The purpose of the model is to provide an empirical framework for understanding the context for decision-making under conditions of existential threat to organizations, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic during the year 2020.

The model is built on an extensive interdisciplinary literature review, drawing from research in social psychology, management, behavioral economics, evolutionary psychology and consumer behavior. In general, the authors follow Bargal's (2006) call for action research in the spirit of Lewin (1951).

According to the model, organizational decision-making during the pandemic threat is influenced by (1) existential threat and (2) an unprecedented macroenvironmental context for decision-making. The authors argue that these psychological and macroenvironmental forces may lead to suboptimal decision-making, based on (1) their basic cognitive architecture and (2) specific evolutionary triggers activated by the pandemic. The authors highlight how the interaction between these inputs and the decision context manifest in various social psychological phenomena that are known to impact judgments and decisions.

Simply put, the magnitude and the urgency of the global pandemic call for new and integrative ways of understanding organizational decision-making.

The model is new. Although the authors draw on prior research and theory, the model is uniquely interdisciplinary; further, the authors are able to make specific and unique predictions about the inputs, decision context and their social–psychological consequences for decision-making.

David Marquand (2004) opens his celebrated book on the ‘decline’ of public service by arguing (pace Tawney) that there is a fundamental tension between capitalism and democracy – the former dedicated to an essential economic inequality (competition); the latter dedicated to rights-based equity derived from civic ideals. His book highlights public sector institutions as the arena in which the inevitable tussle between the two is played out. The neo-liberal movement provides the ideological vehicle for reform of public institutions, designed to ‘root out the culture of service and citizenship’ (p. 2) – i.e., those civic ideals. At the heart of the struggle is professionalism, the combination of competence, judgement and principle, and neo-liberalism takes careful aim at it.

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.

“While we were once perceived as simply providing services, selling products, and employing people, business now shares in much of the responsibility for our global quality of life. Successful companies will handle this heightened sense of responsibility quite naturally, if not always immediately. I see a future in which the institutions with the most influence by and large will be businesses.” These are the words of the late Robert Goizueta, chairman of the Coca‐Cola Company. They were quoted in an article by Theo Lippman Jr in The Baltimore Sun on July 5, 1998. This quote and the remaining article triggered my thinking about the need to bring this strategic concern to the fore in Strategy & Leadership.

The purpose of this paper is to make a case for the strength of qualitative work, but more specifically for various kinds of ethnographies.

The authors argue that global neoliberal and audit culture policies have crept into academic research, tertiary education practice, and research culture.

The authors then discuss major tenets of and make the case for the use of auto-, duo-, and collaborative-ethnographies as caring practices and research method(ologies) that may in fact push back against such hegemonic neoliberal practices in the academy. Finally, the authors link these caring types of ethnographies to the papers within this special issue.

This is an original look at the concepts of auto-, duo-, and collaborative-ethnographies with relation to caring practices.

The heady system of high‐pressure Continental air that drifted across the Atlantic and collided with the traditional cyclonic patterns of U.S. literary academe in the mid‐1960s precipitated a “Theory Revolution” that has brought a couple of decades of stormy and stimulating weather to the campus. The collision has produced occasionally furious debate and resulted for higher education in the kind of public attention customarily reserved for athletic scandals; it has kept tenuring processes in turmoil and publish‐or‐perish mills working round the clock.

Undoubtedly the most publicised art event during recent months was the long‐awaited opening of the much‐debated extension to the National Gallery. Even when completed the Sainsbury Wing (named, of course, after the trio of grocers who donated the money for its erection) continued to generate controversy in architectural circles. To the uninvolved visitor the building seems to be enormously successful and the suspicion arises that a lot of adverse comments may have come from British architects disappointed that such a prestigious commission went to an American architect. But Robert Venturi and his principal partner, Denise Scott‐Brown, have cracked what had hitherto been seen as an insoluble problem, with style and vigour. Indeed, thanks to Prince Charles' notorious “carbuncle” intervention the National Gallery has now an extension of a quality not achievable (for a number of economic and aesthetic reasons) since the 1930s. This point is clearly emphasised by the illustrations of the structures previously proposed for the site reproduced in Colin Amery's A Celebration of Art and Architecture: The National Gallery Sainsbury Wing (ISBN 0 9476465 86 1, hardback, £40.00; ISBN 0 947645 87 X, paperback, £15.95). This includes not only a succinct history of the National Gallery and a survey of the various previous proposals for an extension, but also a section on “Construction Details” illustrated by some excellent paintings of work in progress, by Andrew Norris. Some of the paintings around which the Wing was designed are in Amery's book, but more are to be found in Michael Wilson's Guide to the Sainsbury Wing (ISBN 0 947645 94 2, paperback, £4.95). This takes the form of tours around the building and around the contents. These include a very large and elegant shop which has led to the immediate removal of the “temporary” shop from its previous dominating position within the National Gallery; a restaurant which allows the public a view of Trafalgar Square similar to that hitherto only available to users of the library in Canada House; and the Micro Gallery (sponsored by American Express) which brings the very latest touch‐screen computer technology right out to the public. With software developed by Cognitive Applications and editorial material generated by 21st Century Systems, this enables any visitor to search the whole of the National Gallery's catalogue and compile their own study notes. The system even has a facility for the display of explanations of “difficult” words used in the descriptions of the 2,000 painting involved, and, at print‐out time, there is even an explanation for the reasons why copyright restrictions prevent the reproduction of certain pictures. No wonder this facility has proved to be an immensely popular aspect of a building which already looks as though it has always been there.