Editorial Gavan Jennings In Passing: A Howling Emptiness Michael Kirke The hidden legacy of ordinary people Margaret Hickey A call to action for the twenty-somethings Luke Power The master of misguided philanthropy James Bradshaw God’s undying love for all of us Pat Hanratty Civilization at the crossroads David Gibney The Keys to the Kingdom: A Gentle But Firm Correction to The Chosen Dr Richard DeClue Film review: Cabrini Matthew Becklo
Editorial Gavan Jennings In Passing: Endgame or Game On? Part Two Michael Kirke The Evangelicals and a secularising America James Bradshaw The 1968 presidential election’s 2024 re-run James Bradshaw Creating safe, connected and anxious children Margaret Hickey The myths surrounding mythology David Gibney The uniqueness of the Book of Genesis Patrick Gorevan The Real Saint Patrick? Pat Hanratty Films: What IF Says About AI and Love Karl D. Stephan
Editorial Gavan Jennings In Passing: The Extraordinary Life and Art of Andrey Tarkovsky (Part I) Michael Kirke The chilling lessons of past wars James Bradshaw Is War Inevitable? James Bradshaw A Lifetime on the Frontline Gerard Scullion A Different America? Pat Hanratty The population bomb has imploded Tim O’Sullivan The Bible: a book for a disenchanted world David Gibney The Summer Reading List George Weigel
Editorial Gavan Jennings In Passing: Faustian temptations and Promethean dreams Michael Kirke Blessed are the Peacemakers Pat Hanratty The Cardinal who fearlessly opposed the “armed struggle” Tim O’Sullivan Church and community in a post-Christian world (Part Two) James Bradshaw Sam Harris and Jordan Peterson on the Bible Christopher Kaczor New Atheism grows old Patrick Gorevan Film review: Poor Things Juan Luis Sánchez
This uniquely comprehensive Handbook examines the complex relationship between lobbyists and public policy through an innovative multi-analytic lens. Emphasising the profound impact of the topic on modern government and contemporary societal issues, David Coen and Alexander Katsaitis bring together a wide range of experts to illuminate the contexts and processes involved in public policy, and how this interacts with the practice of lobbying.
Becoming a solo librarian may be a daunting prospect. From collections to cataloguing, classifying to copyright, whether the individual is a solo librarian, within a small team with limited help, or working in a larger library or information hub, the range of tasks involved will remain the same. Whilst being a solo librarian does have its fair share of challenges that can include juggling multiple tasks and time management, marketing and embracing the ever-changing technologies and upcoming social media channels, and effectively managing the feeling of being isolated, there are also many advantages. With the author having been through the education process and gained work experience, information professionals will have already picked up many transferrable skills and identified some key aspects when it comes to accessing, using, and running a library. By being intellectually curious, embracing ever-changing technologies, enjoying learning and knowledge creation, and working alongside non-library colleagues, it is likely that information professionals are organised, can manage their time effectively, enjoy helping others by sharing and promoting library and information services, and will stay engaged as a team of one. As a solo librarian herself and a book not being available on the topic, she has decided to write one – which covers the lessons learnt, and templates created in order to assist others) that find themselves in a similar role &/or a small team with limited help. This Internationally applicable and practical handbook will follow a yearly planner and shows a timeline of key activities that happen throughout, in this instance, an academic year and include the following examples: Acquisitions, cataloguing, updating library guidance (before academic year start - September) Student and Staff Inductions (September/October) Quarterly Business Review to review updates and library usage (Oct – Dec) Library cover over student/staff holiday period (Dec) Quarterly Business Review (Jan – Mar) Quality standard(s) re-accreditation (April) Research methods/study skills webinars (April) Library cover over student holiday period (April) Quarterly Business Review (April –June) Copyright Audit (May) Copyright Academic Rollover (June) Quarterly Business Review (July –Sept) Yearly e-Library review (July) Financial Review (July) Student Survey Results (July) Library cover over student holiday period (August/September) Appendices will include a condensed version of ‘Lucy the Librarian top tips for successful solo librarianship’ (Note: Chapter 4 of the publication will expand on key elements and provide contextual examples) as well as providing templates and guidance notes that will be made available to download and used to aid those working in information, knowledge, libraries and related disciplines, whether based within the UK or around the world. The idea behind this practical handbook, therefore, is to provide guidance and templates to cover: Understanding the roles and responsibilities of a solo librarian Identifying library user needs, Benchmarking, Forming a clear structure – for Physical and Online Libraries, Acquisitions and financial management, Classification and cataloguing, Archives and records management, Copyright (incl. Referencing and Plagiarism), Intellectual Property, and Licensing, Communications and promotion, Where to access further Information, Advice, and Guidance, and more.
The latest World Economic Outlook reports economic activity was surprisingly resilient through the global disinflation of 2022–23, despite significant central bank interest rate hikes to restore price stability. Risks to the global outlook are now broadly balanced compared with last year. Monetary policy should ensure that inflation touches down smoothly, while a renewed focus on fiscal consolidation is needed to rebuild room for budgetary maneuver and to ensure debt sustainability. Structural reforms are crucial to revive medium-term growth prospects amid constrained policy space.
A number of sovereign debt restructurings over the past three years faced significant delays but the cases are now moving forward. These delays slowed access of countries to much needed Fund financial support, and alongside creditors’ efforts the Fund had to find ways forward. With significant experience now gleaned from recent restructuring cases, it is important to extract the lessons for Fund policies from this episode. Delays in future Fund engagements need to be minimized where this can be done in a manner consistent with restoring the member to medium-term external viability and ensuring adequate safeguards for the Fund. Such delays can contribute to a deepening of debt distress, making adjustment more difficult, exacerbating the debt problem, and creating inefficiency costs for both the debtor and its creditors.
Capacity Development (CD), comprising technical assistance and training, fosters economic development by improving human capital and institutions in member countries. Every five years, the IMF reviews its CD Strategy to ensure that CD continues to be of high quality and well-focused on the needs of its members. This review calls for CD to become more flexible, integrated with the Fund’s policy advice and lending, and tailored to respond to member needs. The review benefitted from the recent independent evaluation of the Fund’s CD and a wide range of inputs, including internal and external consultations, surveys of recipients and development partners, staff background studies and recommendations of an External Advisory Group. The vision for CD is informed by the Fund’s comparative advantages and surveillance priorities. The proposals of the current review center around the six key areas: (1) strengthening CD prioritization and integration; (2) enhancing the funding model; (3) strengthening monitoring and evaluation; (4) modernizing modalities; (5) enhancing field presence; and (5) strengthening human resources policies for staff working on CD.
