The roles of professional and trade associations

Under the former Communist regimes, trade associations were often effectively instruments of government. They now have to acquire a new role in the emergent democracies. But trade associations have few resources, are difficult to manage, and are subject to legal restraints. Yet these groups have an enormous job: to act on behalf of their members, to represent them to the government and other groups, and to achieve what they as an industry want and need. This requires that members reach a common position and provide support and assistance. It also requires that the association delegate some activities to commercial operators. A variety of book trade associations is described. Clive Bradley has been chief executive of the British Publishers Association since 1976 and director of the Confederation of Information Communication Industries since 1984. A barrister who studied law at Cambridge and Yale Universities, he has made special studies of the laws of copyright and industrial relations and of European law. This article was adapted from a presentation given at the seminar “East Meets West: Copyright and the Publisher in a Market Economy”, held in Hamburg in March 1991.     

Investigating the Circle of Friends Approach: Adaptations and Implications for Practice

Circle of Friends is a recent intervention used to tackle social isolation in childhood. Its aim is to promote social inclusion by establishing a friendship group for an isolated child. Although there is some literature relating to the development and implementation of this approach, there is relatively little evidence regarding its effectiveness. Two evaluation studies of the Circle of Friends approach are discussed in this paper. Both studies involve adaptations of the traditional model. Consideration of these models and an evaluation of their relative effectiveness in promoting social inclusion is made. Implications for educational psychology practice are explored.     

Four spheres of knowledge required: an international study of the professional development of literacy/English teacher educators

This paper reports on a research study of 28 literacy teacher educators (LTE) in four countries: Canada, the USA, England and Australia. It identifies three main forms of professional development: informal, formal and communities of practice and four spheres of knowledge: research; pedagogy of higher education; literacy and literacy teaching; and current school district and government initiatives. The study reveals the sheer scale of knowledge required to be an effective LTE and demonstrates how participants used the three forms of professional development to enhance their knowledge in each sphere. It concludes that the professional development of teacher educators is not conducted systematically; rather, it is quite ad hoc with much of it occurring through learning while doing. All had to construct their own programmes for professional development, which added yet another layer to their responsibilities.     

Successful journal publishing on the Internet: hit or myth?

If publishers of learned journals are going to make a success of their web publishing, they should not forget all the skills they have developed in publishing in print. This paper reviews the application of familiar journal publishing skills in the context of electronic journals or electronic editions of printed journals, and pinpoints areas where these skills apply in web publishing and where new skills are necessary.