Library

Notes: Chemokines compose a sophisticated communication system used by all our cell types, including immune cells. Chemokine messages are decoded by specific receptors that initiate signal transduction events leading to a multitude of cellular responses, leukocyte chemotaxis and adhesion in particular. Critical determinants of the in vivo activities of chemokines in the immune system include their presentation by endothelial cells and extracellular matrix molecules, as well as their cellular uptake via "silent" chemokine receptors (interceptors) leading either to their transcytosis or to degradation. These regulatory mechanisms of chemokine histotopography, as well as the promiscuous and overlapping receptor specificities of inflammation-induced chemokines, shape innate responses to infections and tissue damage. Conversely, the specific patterns of homeostatic chemokines, where each chemokine is perceived by a single receptor, are charting lymphocyte navigation routes for immune surveillance. This review presents our current understanding of the mechanisms that regulate the cellular perception and pathophysiologic meaning of chemokines.

Notes: Mutations in nine different genes have been found to cause the human severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome. The products of three of the genes-IL-2RG, Jak3, and IL-7Ralpha-are components of cytokine receptors, and the products of three more-RAG1, RAG2, and Artemis-are essential for effecting antigen receptor gene rearrangement. Additionally, a deficiency of CD3delta, a component of the T-cell antigen receptor, results in a near absence of circulating mature CD3+ T cells and a complete lack of gamma/delta T cells. Adenosine deaminase deficiency results in toxic accumulations of metabolites that cause T cell apoptosis. Finally, a deficiency of CD45, a critical regulator of signaling thresholds in immune cells, also causes SCID. Approaches to immune reconstitution have included bone marrow transplantation and gene therapy. Bone marrow transplantation, both HLA identical unfractionated and T cell-depleted HLA haploidentical, has been very successful in effecting immune reconstitution if done in the first 3.5 months of life and without pretransplant chemotherapy. Gene therapy was highly successful in nine infants with X-linked SCID, but the trials have been placed on hold due to the development of a leukemic process in two of the children because of insertional oncogenesis.

Notes: Cells of the immune system carry out diverse functions that are controlled by surface receptors for antigen, costimulatory molecules, cytokines, chemokines, and other ligands. A shared feature of signal transduction downstream of most receptors on immune cells, as in nonhematopoietic cell types, is the activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K). The mechanism by which this common signaling event is elicited by distinct receptors and contributes to unique functional outcomes is an intriguing puzzle. Understanding how specificity is achieved in PI3K signaling is of particular significance because altered regulation of this pathway is observed in many disease states, including leukemia and lymphoma. Here we review recent advances in the understanding of PI3K signaling mechanisms in different immune cells and receptor systems. We emphasize the concept that PI3K and its products are components of complex networks of interacting proteins and second messengers, rather than simple links in linear signaling cascades.

Notes: The present review focuses on the concept that cellular and humoral immunity to the phylogenetically highly conserved antigen heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) is the initiating mechanism in the earliest stages of atherosclerosis. Subjecting arterial endothelial cells to classical atherosclerosis risk factors leads to the expression of HSP60 that then may serve as a target for pre-existent cross-reactive antimicrobial HSP60 immunity or bona fide autoimmune reactions induced by biochemically altered autologous HSP60. Endothelial cells can also bind microbial or autologous HSP60 via Toll-like receptors, providing another possibility for targetting adaptive or innate immunological effector mechanisms.

Notes: Complement has both beneficial and deleterious roles in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). On the one hand, patients with SLE present with decreased complement levels and with complement deposition in inflammed tissues, suggestive of a harmful role of complement in the effector phase of disease. On the other hand, homozygous deficiency of any of the classical pathway proteins is strongly associated with the development of SLE. There are two main hypotheses to explain these observations. The first invokes an important role for complement in the physiological waste-disposal mechanisms of dying cells and immune complexes. The second hypothesis is based around the role of complement in determining the activation thresholds of B and T lymphocytes, with the proposal that complement deficiency causes incomplete maintenance of peripheral tolerance. These two hypotheses are not mutually exclusive. In addition, there is evidence for a contribution from other genetic factors in determining the phenotype of disease in the absence of complement.

Notes: Cytokines are an integral component of the adaptive and innate immune responses. The signaling pathways triggered by the engagement of cytokines with their specific cell surface receptors have been extensively studied and have provided a profound understanding of the intracellular machinery that translates exposure of cells to cytokine to a coordinated biological response. It has also become clear that cells have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to prevent excessive responses to cytokines. In this review we focus on the suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) family of cytoplasmic proteins that completes a negative feedback loop to attenuate signal transduction from cytokines that act through the janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathway. SOCS proteins inhibit components of the cytokine signaling cascade via direct binding or by preventing access to the signaling complex. The SOCS proteins also appear to target signal transducers for proteasomal destruction. Analyses of genetically modified mice in which SOCS proteins are overexpressed or deleted have established that this family of negative regulators has indispensable roles in regulating cytokine responses in cells of the immune system as well as other tissues. Emerging evidence also suggests that disruption of SOCS expression or activity is associated with several immune and inflammatory diseases, raising the prospect that manipulation of SOCS activity may provide a novel future therapeutic strategy in the management of immunological disorders.

Notes: The factors affecting T cell viability vary depending on the type and status of the T cell involved. Naive T cells die via a Bcl-2/Bim dependent route. Their deaths are prevented in animals by IL-7 and contact with MHC. Activated T cells die in many different ways. Among these is a pathway involving signals that come from outside the T cell and affect it via surface receptors such as Fas. Activated T cells also die through a pathway driven by signals generated within the T cell itself, a cell autonomous route. This pathway involves members of the Bcl-2 family, in particular Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, Bim, and probably Bak. The viability of CD8+ and CD4+ memory T cells is controlled in different ways. CD8+ memory T cells are maintained by IL-15 and IL-7. The control of CD4+ memory T cells is more mysterious, with roles reported for IL-7 and/or contact via the TCR.

Notes: The present review focuses on the concept that cellular and humoral immunity to the phylogenetically highly conserved antigen heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) is the initiating mechanism in the earliest stages of atherosclerosis. Subjecting arterial endothelial cells to classical atherosclerosis risk factors leads to the expression of HSP60 that then may serve as a target for pre-existent cross-reactive antimicrobial HSP60 immunity or bona fide autoimmune reactions induced by biochemically altered autologous HSP60. Endothelial cells can also bind microbial or autologous HSP60 via Toll-like receptors, providing another possibility for targetting adaptive or innate immunological effector mechanisms.

Notes: Integrin receptors mediate adhesive events that are critical for a specific and effective immune response to foreign pathogens. Integrin-dependent interactions of lymphocytes and antigen-presenting cells (APCs) to endothelium regulate the efficiency and specificity of trafficking into secondary lymphoid organs and peripheral tissue. Within these sites, integrins facilitate cell movement via interactions with the extracellular matrix, and promote and stabilize antigen-specific interactions between T lymphocytes and APCs that are critical for initiating T cell-activation events. In this review, we discuss the role of integrins in T cell-mediated immunity, with a focus on how these receptors participate in lymphocyte recirculation and T cell activation, how antigen stimulation regulates integrin activity, and how integrins define functionally unique subsets of T cells and APCs.

Notes: Naturally occurring CD4+ regulatory T cells, the majority of which express CD25, are engaged in dominant control of self-reactive T cells, contributing to the maintenance of immunologic self-tolerance. Their depletion or functional alteration leads to the development of autoimmune disease in otherwise normal animals. The majority, if not all, of such CD25+CD4+ regulatory T cells are produced by the normal thymus as a functionally distinct and mature subpopulation of T cells. Their repertoire of antigen specificities is as broad as that of naive T cells, and they are capable of recognizing both self and nonself antigens, thus enabling them to control various immune responses. In addition to antigen recognition, signals through various accessory molecules and via cytokines control their activation, expansion, and survival, and tune their suppressive activity. Furthermore, the generation of CD25+CD4+ regulatory T cells in the immune system is at least in part developmentally and genetically controlled. Genetic defects that primarily affect their development or function can indeed be a primary cause of autoimmune and other inflammatory disorders in humans. Based on recent advances in our understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of this T cell-mediated immune regulation, this review discusses how naturally arising CD25+CD4+ regulatory T cells contribute to the maintenance of immunologic self-tolerance and negative control of various immune responses, and how they can be exploited to prevent and treat autoimmune disease, allergy, cancer, and chronic infection, or establish donor-specific transplantation tolerance.

Notes: Organic nitrates such as nitroglycerin (NTG) have been used as potent vasodilators in medicine for more than a century, but their biochemical mechanisms of action, particularly in relation to tolerance development, are still incompletely defined. Numerous candidate enzymes for NTG metabolism, as well as a multiplicity of tolerance mechanisms, have been proposed in the literature, but a consolidating hypothesis that links these phenomena together has not appeared. Here, we outline a "thionitrate oxidation hypothesis," which attempts to link nitrate bioactivation and tolerance development in an overall mechanism. We also attempt to compare and contrast the proposed mechanism against existing theories of nitrate action and tolerance. Interactions between organic nitrates, which have been thought of as endothelium-independent agents, and the vascular endothelium and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) are also discussed.

Notes: Botulinum toxin is a uniquely potent substance synthesized by the organisms Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium baratii, and Clostridium butyricum. This toxin, which acts preferentially on peripheral cholinergic nerve endings to block acetylcholine release, is both an agent that causes disease (i.e., botulism) as well as an agent that can be used to treat disease (e.g., dystonia). The ability of botulinum toxin to produce its effects is largely dependent on its ability to penetrate cellular and intracellular membranes. Thus, toxin that is ingested or inhaled can bind to epithelial cells and be transported to the general circulation. Toxin that reaches peripheral nerve endings binds to the cell surface then penetrates the plasma membrane by receptor-mediated endocytosis and the endosome membrane by pH-induced translocation. Internalized toxin acts in the cytosol as a metalloendoprotease to cleave polypeptides that are essential for exocytosis. This review seeks to identify and characterize all major steps in toxin action, from initial absorption to eventual paralysis of cholinergic transmission.

Notes: Dopamine- and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein, Mr 32 kDa (DARPP-32), was identified initially as a major target for dopamine and protein kinase A (PKA) in striatum. However, recent advances now indicate that regulation of the state of DARPP-32 phosphorylation provides a mechanism for integrating information arriving at dopaminoceptive neurons, in multiple brain regions, via a variety of neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, neuropeptides, and steroid hormones. Activation of PKA or PKG stimulates DARPP-32 phosphorylation at Thr34 and thereby converts DARPP-32 into a potent inhibitor of protein phosphatase-1 (PP-1). DARPP-32 is also phosphorylated at Thr75 by Cdk5 and this converts DARPP-32 into an inhibitor of PKA. Thus, DARPP-32 has the unique property of being a dual-function protein, acting either as an inhibitor of PP-1 or of PKA. The state of phosphorylation of DARPP-32 at Thr34 depends on the phosphorylation state of two serine residues, Ser102 and Ser137, which are phosphorylated by CK2 and CK1, respectively. By virtue of its ability to modulate the activity of PP-1 and PKA, DARPP-32 is critically involved in regulating electrophysiological, transcriptional, and behavioral responses to physiological and pharmacological stimuli, including antidepressants, neuroleptics, and drugs of abuse.

Notes: Physiological and pharmacological evidence both have demonstrated a critical role for voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) in many types of chronic pain syndromes because these channels play a fundamental role in the excitability of neurons in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Alterations in function of these channels appear to be intimately linked to hyperexcitability of neurons. Many types of pain appear to reflect neuronal hyperexcitability, and importantly, use-dependent sodium channel blockers are effective in the treatment of many types of chronic pain. This review focuses on the role of VGSCs in the hyperexcitability of sensory primary afferent neurons and their contribution to the inflammatory or neuropathic pain states. The discrete localization of the tetrodotoxin (TTX)-resistant channels, in particular NaV1.8, in the peripheral nerves may provide a novel opportunity for the development of a drug targeted at these channels to achieve efficacious pain relief with an acceptable safety profile.

Notes: The activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway is critical for naturally occurring neuronal cell death during development and may be important for the pathological neuronal cell death of neurodegenerative diseases. The small molecule inhibitor of the mixed-lineage kinase (MLK) family of kinases, CEP-1347, inhibits the activation of the JNK pathway and, consequently, the cell death in many cell culture and animal models of neuronal death. CEP-1347 has the ability not only to inhibit cell death but also to maintain the trophic status of neurons in culture. The possible importance of the JNK pathway in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases provides a rationale for the use of CEP-1347 for the treatment of these diseases. CEP-1347 has the potential of not only retarding disease progression but also reversing the severity of symptoms by improving the function of surviving neurons.

Notes: The memory T cell pool functions as a dynamic repository of antigen-experienced T lymphocytes that accumulate over the lifetime of the individual. Recent studies indicate that memory T lymphocytes contain distinct populations of central memory (TCM) and effector memory (TEM) cells characterized by distinct homing capacity and effector function. This review addresses the heterogeneity of TCM and TEM, their differentiation stages, and the current models for their generation and maintenance in humans and mice.

Notes: Mammals generate a diverse array of antimicrobial proteins, largely represented by defensins or cathelicidins. The direct in vitro microbicidal activity of antimicrobial proteins has long been considered an important innate immune defense, although the in vivo relevance has only very recently been established for certain defensins and cathelicidins. Mammalian defensins and cathelicidins have also been shown to have multiple receptor-mediated effects on immune cells. Beta-defensins interact with CCR6; murine beta-defensin-2 in addition activates TLR4. Cathelicidins act on FPRL1-expressing cells. Furthermore, several defensins have considerable immunoenhancing activity. Thus, it appears that mammalian antimicrobial proteins contribute to both innate and adaptive antimicrobial immunity.

Notes: Ubiquitin (Ub)-protein conjugation represents a novel means of posttranscriptional modification in a proteolysis-dependent or -independent manner. E3 Ub ligases play a key role in governing the cascade of Ub transfer reactions by recognizing and catalyzing Ub conjugation to specific protein substrates. The E3s, which can be generally classified into HECT-type and RING-type families, are involved in the regulation of many aspects of the immune system, including the development, activation, and differentiation of lymphocytes, T cell-tolerance induction, antigen presentation, immune evasion, and virus budding. E3-promoted ubiquitination affects a wide array of biological processes, such as receptor downmodulation, signal transduction, protein processing or translocation, protein-protein interaction, and gene transcription, in addition to proteasome-mediated degradation. Deficiency or mutation of some of the E3s like Cbl, Cbl-b, or Itch, causes abnormal immune responses such as autoimmunity, malignancy, and inflammation. This review discusses our current understanding of E3 Ub ligases in both innate and adaptive immunity. Such knowledge may facilitate the development of novel therapeutic approaches for immunological diseases.

Notes: The gastrointestinal tract is the central organ for uptake of fluids and nutrients, and at the same time it forms the main protective barrier between the sterile environment of the body and the outside world. In mammals, the intestine has further evolved to harbor a vast load of commensal bacteria that have important functions for the host. Discrimination by the host defense system of nonself from self can prevent invasion of pathogens, but equivalent responses to dietary or colonizing bacteria can lead to devastating consequences for the organism. This dilemma imposed by the gut environment has probably contributed significantly to the evolutionary drive that has led to sophisticated mechanisms and diversification of the immune system to allow for protection while maintaining the integrity of the mucosal barrier. The immense expansion and specialization of the immune system is particularly mirrored in the phylogeny, ontogeny, organization, and regulation of the adaptive intraepithelial lymphocytes, or IEL, which are key players in the unique intestinal defense mechanisms that have evolved in mammals.

Notes: Natural killer (NK) cells play important roles in immunological processes, including early defense against viral infections. This review provides an overview of the dynamic in vivo life of NK cells from their development in the bone marrow to their mature peripheral responses and their ultimate demise, with particular emphasis on mouse NK cells and viral infections.

Notes: The generation of B-lymphocytes from hematopoietic stem cells is controlled by multiple transcription factors regulating distinct developmental aspects. Ikaros and PU.1 act in parallel pathways to control the development of lymphoid progenitors in part by regulating the expression of essential signaling receptors (Flt3, c-Kit, and IL-7Ralpha). The generation of the earliest B cell progenitors depends on E2A and EBF, which coordinately activate the B cell gene expression program and immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene rearrangements at the onset of B-lymphopoiesis. Pax5 restricts the developmental options of lymphoid progenitors to the B cell lineage by repressing the transcription of lineage-inappropriate genes and simultaneously activating the expression of B-lymphoid signaling molecules. LEF1 and Sox4 contribute to the survival and proliferation of pro-B cells in response to extracellular signals. Finally, IRF4 and IRF8 together control the termination of pre-B cell receptor signaling and thus promote differentiation to small pre-B cells undergoing light-chain gene rearrangements.

Notes: When asthma is diagnosed, eosinophilic inflammation and airway remodeling are established in the bronchial airways and can no longer be separated as cause and effect because both processes contribute to persistence and progression of disease, despite anti-inflammatory therapy. Th2 cells are continually active in the airways, even when disease is quiescent. IL-13 is the key effector cytokine in asthma and stimulates airway fibrosis through the action of matrix metalloproteinases on TGF-beta and promotes epithelial damage, mucus production, and eosinophilia. The production of IL-13 and other Th2 cytokines by non-T cells augments the inflammatory response. Inflammation is amplified by local responses of the epithelium, smooth muscle, and fibroblasts through the production of chemokines, cytokines, and proteases. Injured cells produce adenosine that enhances IL-13 production. We review human and animal data detailing the cellular and molecular interactions in established allergic asthma that promote persistent disease, amplify inflammation, and, in turn, cause disease progression.

Notes: Autoreactive antibodies are etiologic agents in a number of autoimmune diseases. Like all other antibodies these antibodies are produced in developing B cells by V(D)J recombination in the bone marrow. Three mechanisms regulate autoreactive B cells: deletion, receptor editing, and anergy. Here we review the prevalence of autoantibodies in the initial antibody repertoire, their regulation by receptor editing, and the role of the recombinase proteins (RAG1 and RAG2) in this process.

Notes: The purpose of immunological memory is to protect the host from reinfection, to control persistent infections, and, through maternal antibody, to protect the host's immunologically immature offspring from primary infections. Immunological memory is an exclusive property of the acquired immune system, where in the presence of CD4 T cell help, T cells and B cells clonally expand and differentiate to provide effector systems that protect the host from pathogens. Here we describe how T and B cell memory is generated in response to virus infections and how these cells respond when the host is infected again by similar or different viruses.

Notes:   This paper shows that in the Baltic countries, commuting reduces urban-rural wage and employment disparities and increases national output. To quantify the effect of commuting on wage differentials, two sets of earnings functions are estimated (based on Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian Labor Force Surveys) with location variables (capital city, rural, etc.) measured at the workplace and at the place of residence. We find that the ceteris paribus wage gap between capital city and rural areas, as well as between capital and other cities is significantly narrowed by commuting in some cases but remains almost unchanged in others. Different outcomes are explained by country-specific spatial patterns of commuting, educational and occupational composition of commuting flows, and presence or absence of wage discrimination against rural residents in urban markets. A treatment effects model is used to estimate individual wage gains to rural—urban or inter-city commuting; these gains are substantial in most but not all cases. Wage effects of commuting distance, as well as impact of education, gender, ethnicity, and local labor market conditions on the commuting decision are also explored.

Notes:   This paper argues that search theory is a useful addition to the way economists and geographers have approached the study of commuting behavior. This is illustrated by showing that introduction of a spatial element into the standard model of job search leads to the prediction of critical isochrones. Moreover, in the context of an urban economy with decentralized employment, the spatial search model predicts excess commuting. Search theory also suggests that regression toward the mean may play a confusing role in data describing the development of commutes over time, such as has been used in recent empirical work. Finally, the paper develops a simple spatial equilibrium search model in which employers set their wages optimally and searchers determine their reservation wages optimally in mutually consistent ways. The spatial element is crucial for the existence of such an equilibrium in which reservation wages of all searchers and wages set by all employers are identical.

Notes:   Clusters now form a central element in many regional economic development policies. Location within a cluster of related industries is thought to increase a firm's competitive advantage resulting in higher output and productivity growth rates than in similar firms located beyond the cluster. This study focuses on owner-managers operating small firms within a traditional cluster of metalworking industries and empirically examines the relationship between growth-orientation and the extent and nature of cluster embeddedness. The results indicate only a limited number of differences in growth-orientation given variations in levels of cluster embeddedness. Contrary to conventional wisdom, many of the most growth-oriented entrepreneurs focus their activities outside the cluster, especially in terms of market-based linkages. However, those firms with more advanced process technologies do tend to show above average within cluster linkages.

Notes:   The goal of this paper is twofold. The first goal is to incorporate spatial structure within shift-share analysis, to take into account interregional interaction in the decomposition analysis. Secondly, this paper develops a taxonomy of regional growth rate decompositions. A taxonomy of the spatial structure is presented; it comprises twenty alternative decomposition structures, including the original standard shift-share analysis as well as six alternative structures outlined in the taxonomy for non-spatial structures.

Notes: Book reviewed: Internet, Economic Growth and Globalization: Perspective on the New Economy in Europe, Japan and the USA. Edited by Claude E. Barfield, Günter Heiduk, and Paul J.J. Welfens: Springer, 2003. 385pp. ISBN 3-540-00286-3.

Notes:   This paper discusses various aspects of the economic analysis of commuting behavior. It starts with a review of two difficulties associated with urban economics models: the empirically falsified prediction of the relation between commuting time and income, and the presence of substantial excess commuting. Notwithstanding these anomalies, research that focuses directly on the value of travel time provides evidence that there is substantial resistance against commuting among large groups of workers. However, commuting costs are just one among many other explanatory variables for actual commuting behavior, and commuting itself has become much less onerous over time. This suggests that commuting costs play a much more limited role than has been assumed in the past. On the other hand, empirical evidence suggests that space is more important than one would be inclined to think on the basis of the considerations just given. These empirical regularities suggest that other space-related aspects of the functioning of urban labor and housing markets are more important than was previously thought.

Notes:   Commuting is popularly viewed as a stressful, costly, time-wasting experience from the individual perspective, with the attendant congestion imposing major social costs as well. However, several authors have noted that commuting can also offer benefits to the individual, serving as a valued transition between the home and work realms of personal life. Using survey data collected from about 1,300 commuting workers in three San Francisco Bay Area neighborhoods, empirical models are developed for four key variables measured for commute travel, namely: Objective Mobility, Subjective Mobility, Travel Liking, and Relative Desired Mobility. Explanatory variables include measures of general travel-related attitudes, personality traits, lifestyle priorities, and sociodemographic characteristics. Both descriptive statistics and analytical models indicate that commuting is not the unmitigated burden that it is widely perceived to be. About half of the sample were relatively satisfied with the amount they commute, with a small segment actually wanting to increase that amount. Both the psychological impact of commuting, and the amounts people want to commute relative to what they are doing now, are strongly influenced by their liking for commuting. An implication for policy is that some people may be more resistant than expected toward approaches intended to induce reductions in commuting (including, for example, telecommuting). New creativity may be needed to devise policies that recognize the inherent positive utility of travel, while trying to find socially beneficial ways to fulfill desires to maintain or increase travel.

Notes:   While previous research has generally found that immigration raises unemployment for natives, effects are often more muted than expected. Anticipated out-migration responses have been similarly difficult to discern. However, these findings may be byproducts of the long-run nature of most inquiries, which furthermore do not account for changes in natives’ labor force participation. In response, this study evaluates the impact of the arrival of low-skilled immigrants on low-skilled natives in urban areas over a five year period. Initial static results from the Census Basic Monthly Survey clearly indicate that immigrants have a significant negative impact on natives’ labor force participation. Building upon these static panel results, characteristics of immigrants’ destination choices are examined along with the ensuing adjustment process through dynamic analyses of local markets. Surges of immigrants significantly reduce the labor force participation of low-skilled natives, emphasizing this often neglected channel for labor market adjustment. Previous work may thus understate the true impact of immigrants on local labor markets by focusing on the longer term and ignoring adjustments through participation.

Notes: Books reviewed:Christopher Bobonich, Plato's Utopia Recast: His Later Ethics and PoliticsJohn Capreolus, On The VirtuesMiguel A. Badia Cabrera, Hume's Reflection on ReligionCatherine Chalier, What Ought I to Do?: Morality in Kant and LevinasKeith Ansell-Pearson and John Mullarkey, Henri Bergson: Key WritingsAndrew Brook and Don Ross, Daniel DennettNancey Murphy, Brad J. Kallenberg, and Mark Thiessen Nation, Virtues and Practices in the Christian Tradition: Christian Ethics after MacIntyreWilliam Lane Craig, God, Time, and EternityPaul Copan and Paul K. Moser, The Rationality of TheismW. Norris Clarke, The One and the Many: A Contemporary Thomistic MetaphysicsRichard A. Cohen, Ethics, Exegesis and Philosophy: Interpretation after LevinasSimon Critchley and Robert Bernasconi, The Cambridge Companion to LevinasD. D. Raphael, Concepts of JusticeMartha C. Nussbaum, Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of EmotionsDavid Herbert, Religion and Social TransformationsRobert H. Nelson, Economics as Religion; from Samuelson to Chicago and BeyondEdmondo F. Lupieri, The Mandaeans: The Last GnosticsAntonía Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman AgeJames M. Scott, Geography in Early Judaism and Christianity: The Book of JubileesDavid Naugle, Worldview: The History of a ConceptDianne Kirby, Religion and the Cold WarColin E. Gunton, The Christian Faith: An Introduction to Christian DoctrinePaul Williams, The Unexpected Way: On Converting from Buddhism to CatholicismAlan P. F. Sell, Confessing and Commending the FaithThomas M. Kelly, Theology at the VoidJohn David Dawson, Christian Figural Reading and the Fashioning of IdentityDaniel Kendall and Stephen T. Davis, The Convergence of Theology: A Festschrift Honoring Gerald O'Collins, S.J.Bernard Hoose, Authority in the Roman Catholic ChurchTimothy Matovina and Gary Riebe-Estrella, Horizons of the Sacred: Mexican Traditions in US CatholicismKenneth J. Howell, God's Two Books: Copernican Cosmology and Biblical Interpretation in Early Modern ScienceEllen Frankel Paul, Fred D. Miller Jr. and Jeffrey Paul, Should Differences in Income and Wealth Matter?Ron Geaves, Continuum Glossary of Religious Terms

Notes: Books reviewed:Renate Egger-Wenzel, Ben Sira's GodPaul J. Achtemeier, Joel B. Green and Marianne Meye Thompson, Introducing the New Testament, Its Literature and TheologyI. Boxall, Revelation: Vision and Insight. An Introduction to the ApocalypseS. Moyise, Studies in the Book of RevelationG. R. Osborne, Revelation: The Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New TestamentN. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of GodGillian Clark and T. Rajak, Philosophy and Power in the Graeco-Roman World: Essays in Honour of Miriam GriffinRichard Paul Vaggione, Eunomius of Cyzicus and the Nicene RevolutionStephen T. Davies, Daniel Kendall S. J. and Gerald O'Collins, The Incarnation. An Interdisciplinary Symposium on the Incarnation of the Son of GodRichard Cross, The Metaphysics of the IncarnationHugh Connolly, SinAnthony W. Bartlett, Cross Purposes: The Violent Grammar of Christian AtonementStanley Hauerwas, With the Grain of the Universe: The Church's Witness and Natural TheologySarah Coakley, Powers and Submissions: Spirituality, Philosophy and GenderChristopher Cocksworth and Rosalind Brown, Being a Priest Today: Exploring priestly identityRandall Balmer, Encyclopedia of EvangelicalismKate Armstrong, Crisis and RepetitionAnthony A. Barrett, Livia: First Lady of Imperial RomeGerhard Podskalsky, Von Photios zu Bessarion: Der Vorrang humanistisch geprägter Theologie in Byzanz und deren bleibende BedeutungNicola Coldstream, Medieval ArchitectureW. J. Armstrong, J. A. W. Hellmann and W. Short, Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, IIIEllen E. Kittell and Thomas F. Madden, Medieval and Renaissance VeniceTheodor Dieter, Der junge Luther und Aristoteles: Eine historisch-systematische Untersuchung zum Verhältnis von Theologie und PhilosophieAndrew Brown, Church and Society in England, 1000–1500Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Duncan Robertson, and Nancy Warren, The Vernacular Spirit: Essays on Medieval Religious LiteratureBarry Collett, Female Monastic Life in Early Tudor England, with an Edition of Richard Fox's Translation of the Benedictine Rule for Women, 1517Marc R. Forster, The Catholic Revival in the Age of the Baroque. Religious Identity in Southwest Germany, 1550–1750W. R. Ward, Christianity under the Ancien Régime 1648–1789Nigel Aston, Religion and Revolution in France 1780–1804Catharine Edwards, Roman Presences: Receptions of Rome in European Culture, 1789–1945Bruce L. Kinzer, England's Disgrace? J. S. Mill and the Irish QuestionJohn Corrigan, Business of the Heart: Religion and Emotion in the Nineteenth CenturyPeter M. Chisnall, John Henry Cardinal Newman: A Man of Courage, Conflict and ConvictionVincent Ferrer Blehl, Pilgrim Journey: John Henry Newman 1801–1845Kester Aspden, Fortress Church. The English Roman Catholic Bishops and Politics 1903–63David Alvarez, Spies In The Vatican: Espionage and Intrigue From Napoleon to the HolocaustPeter McDonough and Eugene C. Bianchi, Passionate Uncertainty: Inside the American JesuitsRuby Blondell, The Play of Character in Plato's Dialogues

Notes: Books reviewed:Baruch Halpern, David's Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, KingVictor H. Matthew, Social World of the Hebrew ProphetsS. Walton and D. Wenham, Exploring the New Testament, Vol. 1: Introducing the Gospels and ActsD. Burkett, An Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of ChristianityWai-Yee Ng, Water Symbolism in John: An Eschatological InterpretationMark J. Goodwin, Paul, Apostle of the Living God: Kerygma and Conversion in 2 CorinthiansMichael J. Gorman, Cruciformity: Paul's Narrative Spirituality of the CrossDavid Brown, Tradition and Imagination: Revelation and ChangeDavid Brown, Discipleship and Imagination: Christian Tradition and TruthPatricia A. Williams, Doing Without Adam and Eve: Sociobiology and Original SinCharles T. Mathewes, Evil and the Augustinian TraditionKevin L. Flannery, Acts Amid Precepts: The Logical Structure of Thomas Aquinas' Moral TheoryChristopher W. Steck, The Ethical Thought of Hans Urs Von BalthasarJacques Derrida, On Cosmopolitanism and ForgivenessPeter C. Hodgson, The Mystery Beneath the Real: Theology in the Fiction of George EliotScott Matthews, Reason, Community and Religious TraditionJ. Wijngaards, The Ordination of Women in the Catholic Church: Unmasking a Cuckoo's Egg Tradition

Notes: Claude Welch, the distinguished historian of nineteenth-century religious thought, once declared that Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) ‘may be seen as the real turning point into the theology of the nineteenth century’ and that he ‘was as important for British and American thought as were Schleiermacher and Hegel’.2 Still, Coleridge remains largely marginalized in the annals of church history and theology despite his unwavering prominence throughout much of the nineteenth century. Perhaps it should come as no surprise, then, that Coleridge's posthumously published Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit (1840), with its rejection of the verbal infallibility of Scripture and elevation of the importance of the individual in rightly discerning the truths of the Christian faith, has often been misread as an attestation of the primacy of the individual subject over the biblical text. It has been treated alternately as a document that signals the emergence of German higher criticism in England,3 a Romantic appeal to the fundamental importance of the subjective in religion,4 and an early form of reader-oriented literary criticism.5 In this article I suggest that the attention devoted to Coleridge's denial of the verbal inspiration of Scripture, epitomized by the phrase that biblical inspiration is constituted by ‘whatever finds me’, has overshadowed his equally significant attention to the authority of church tradition in that same document. More specifically, rather than arguing for subjectivism in biblical interpretation, Coleridge equally emphasizes the objective sources of revelation expressed in Scripture and the church traditions handed over from the apostles. Rather than proposing a model of biblical inspiration that is wholly individualistic, Coleridge maintains a vision of Christianity that affirms the vitality of both the authority of the church and that of the believer. Thus, Coleridge's theological contribution to religious history is not that of an aberrant, absent-minded poet, but rather that of a central participant engaged in an ongoing and pivotal debate in the history of England: the relationship between Scripture and church traditions.In order to draw out this important, though neglected, strand of thought in those ‘Letters on the Scriptures’, the name by which the Confessions is sometimes identified,6 I begin by briefly clarifying the nature of the idea of tradition both in relation to Coleridge and English theology in the nineteenth century. I then summarize the argument of the Confessions as a whole and turn more particularly to those sections of the Confessions that suggest the role Coleridge assigns to church tradition in relation to Scripture. Finally, after assessing the authority of the church in relationship to the divine Word, I turn to Coleridge's earlier works and his notes on the Works of William Chillingworth (1602–1644) in order to demonstrate that his views on the respective authority of both the individual and the church were consistently held since near the time of his conversion to Trinitarian Christianity. I conclude that Coleridge's conception of the relationship between Scripture and church traditions calls for a reevaluation of his place in the history of religious thought in England.

Notes: Luther, Zwingli and Calvin are in full accord with the Chalcedonian definition of Christ as one person in two natures, which are united unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly and inseparably. The main point of disagreement among them concerns the usage of the so-called communicatio idiomatum. Luther refers to this mainly in his disputes with other theologians such as Nestorius and Zwingli, whereas when he engages in constructive theology or in biblical interpretation, it seems that he does not use it. He could use it because he found it to be in harmony with his own Christological thinking which, he believed, was rooted in the Bible. The doctrine is, for him, an ontological deduction from the cross and the incarnation. The primary purpose of this article is to see how Luther understood the Christological predication, and only in a limited scope bring him in conversation with Zwingli's and Calvin's understanding. Although the traditional interpretation, that the properties of Christ's two natures are communicated to the concretum of his person, predominates in Luther's thought, he went beyond it, affirming a real communication between the two natures. The logic of his usage of the doctrine of the communication of properties enables Luther to move beyond Chalcedonian understanding of Christology, and also sets him apart from the Reformed tradition. Special attention will be given to Luther's usage of the doctrine in relation to the passibility motif, demonstrating that the human idiomatum of suffering and dying belong to God's very being.

Notes: Short Notices:Mary E. Mills, Images of God in the Old TestamentTod Linafelt and Timothy K. Beal, God in the Fray: A Tribute to Walter BrueggemannKari Latvus, God, Anger and Ideology: The Anger of God in Joshua and Judges in Relation to Deuteronomy amd the Priestly Writings (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 279)Edwin D. Freed, The Stories of Jesus' Birth: A Critical Introduction (The Biblical Seminar 72)David B. Capes, Old Testament Yahweh Texts in Paul's Christology (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament. 2 Reihe, 47)Gerard O'Daly, Platonism Pagan and Christian: Studies in Plotinus and AugustineAlistair McFayden and Marcel Sarot, Forgiveness and Truth: Explorations in Contemporary Theology

Notes: Books reviewed:John Barton, Joel and Obadiah: A Commentary (Old Testament Library)John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew, Volume III: Companions and CompetitorsWilliam E. Arnal, Jesus and the Village Scribes: Galilean Conflicts and the Setting of QRichard A. Horsley, Hearing the Whole Story: The Politics of Plot in Mark's GospelMaurice Casey, Aramaic Sources of Mark's GospelPhilip Jenkins, Hidden Gospels: How the Search for Jesus Lost its WayChristopher M. Tuckett, Christology and the New Testament: Jesus and His Earliest FollowersMarkus Bockmuehl, The Cambridge Companion to JesusShelly Matthews, First Converts: Rich Pagan Women and the Rhetoric of Mission in Early Judaism and ChristianityStephen J. Davis, The Cult of Saint Thecla: A Tradition of Women's Piety in Late AntiquityJ. Nimmo Smith, A Christian's Guide to Greek Culture. The Pseudo-Nonnus Commentaries on Sermons 4, 5, 39 and 43 by Gregory of Nazianzus: Introduction, Translation and Notes (Translated Texts for Historians, 37).David Thomas, Early Moslem Polemic Against Christianity: Abu Isa al-Warraq's ‘Against the Incarnation’Thomas O'Loughlin, Celtic Theology: Humanity, World and God in Early Irish WritingsCaroline M. Baron and Jenny Stratford, The Church and Learning in Later Medieval Society: Essays in Honour of R. B. Dobson (Harlaxton Medieval Studies XI)Owen Chadwick, The Early Reformation on the Continent (The Oxford History of the Christian Church)Benson Bobrick, The Making of the English BiblePeter Marhall and Alec Ryrie, The Beginnings of English ProtestantismRobert Tittler, The Reformation and the Towns in England. Politics and Political Culture, c. 1540–1640Peter Marshall, Beliefs and the Dead in Reformation EnglandNicholas Tyacke, Aspects of English Protestantism, c.1530–1700John Coffey, Persecution and Toleration in Protestant England, 1558–1689William Gibson, The Church of England 1688–1832: Unity and AccordWarwick Gould and Marjorie Reeves, Joachim of Fiore and the Myth of the Eternal Evangel in the Nineteenth and Twentieth CenturiesJames M. Byrne, God: Thoughts in an Age of Uncertainty (New Century Theology)Michael Palmer, The Question of God: An Introduction and SourcebookMichel René Barnes, The Power of God: ΔYNAMIΣ in Gregory of Nyssa's Trinitarian TheologyThomas Aquinas, Disputed Questions on VirtueStanley M. Hauerwas, Wilderness Wanderings: Probing Twentieth-Century Theology and PhilosophyDavid Toole, Waiting for Godot in Sarajevo: Theological Reflections on Nihilism, Tragedy, and ApocalypseJohn Sullivan, Catholic Education: Distinctive and InclusiveGeorge Dennis O'Brien, The Idea of a Catholic UniversityGunnar Skirbekk and Nils Gilje, A History of Western ThoughtEllen Wagner, Essays on Plato's PsychologyAnthony Kenny, Aquinas on BeingJame Daly, Deals and Ideals: Two Concepts of EnlightenmentManfred Kuehn, Kant: A BiographyP. Travis Kroeker and Bruce K. Ward, Remembering the End: Dostoevsky as Prophet to ModernityStephen Mulhall, Inheritance and Originality: Wittgenstein, Heidegger, KierkegaardDavid Braybrooke, Natural Law ModernizedMaría Pía Lara, Rethinking EvilW. W. Meisner, Freud and PsychoanalysisJennifer Jackson, Truth, Trust and MedicineJeremy Sugarman and Daniel P. Sulmasy, Methods in Medical EthicsH. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr. and Mark J. Cherry, Allocating Scarce Medical Resources: Roman Catholic PerspectivesMaura A. Ryan, The Ethics and Economics of Assisted Reproduction: The Cost of LongingMichael Walsh, Dictionary of Christian Biography

Notes: The European Union (EU) was supposed to make a great leap forward in 2003. In many ways, it did. The European Convention presented its draft constitutional treaty. The 10 candidate countries signed and ratified their treaties of accession, and the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) agreed to share institutional resources. However, the year was marked more by division than by achievement. A series of crises over Iraq, the Stability and Growth Pact and the intergovernmental conference together shook confidence in the future of Europe. This essay examines what the implications of these crises are for Europe’s future. It argues that they represent important disagreements––but not lasting differences––between the member states. The politics of Europe remains on track at the intergovernmental level. If there are problems in Europe’s future, they are more likely to arise between elites and voters than between the member states.

Notes: Favourable labour market outcomes are essential for economic and social cohesion within the newly enlarged European Union. However, Eurobarometer evidence indicates that many in the 10 incoming countries are not convinced that membership will deliver such a result. Also, there is no unambiguous theoretical framework that suggests otherwise. A more optimistic scenario can be obtained by reference to the experiences of earlier low-income Community entrants during their first years of membership, although long-term convergence has remained elusive.

Notes: This article addresses the issue of how patterns of corporate restructuring are shaped by national systems of corporate governance and industrial relations. Using case studies of three multinationals, it sheds light on the question of whether the way in which restructuring takes place is converging towards the norms characteristic of the Anglo-American model. It is argued that considerable changes are evident among national systems, but that these changes are not all occurring at the same pace, nor are all countries moving in the same direction. Consequently, the way that multinational companies restructure their activities varies markedly according to both the business system in their country of origin and the various host systems in which they are located.

Notes: This article examines the effects of changes in the dynamics of the American national business system on industrial relations settlements in the UK subsidiaries of American multinational corporations (MNCs). While institutionalist analyses of country-of-origin and host-country effects must take account of changes in national business systems, such as the rise of the shareholder value ideology in the USA, empirical analysis reveals a pattern of pathway adjustment rather than radical change in employment relations at the UK subsidiary level. This suggests that although US MNCs are embedded within the American business system, their subsidiaries are not passive ciphers but autonomous sites through which influences must pass.

Notes: The German high-skills/high value-added economy has long been the Mecca for supporters of the European social model. So long as Model Deutschland was thriving the notion of Social Europe was a plausible political project. But Germany is facing a range of economic problems—the aftershock of reunification, high unemployment and internal and external pressures to reform its stakeholder system of economic organisation. Some of these developments strike at core assumptions of the German model. This article reviews the extent to which the German model is in danger and teases out the implications for the wider European economy.

Notes: Controversy abounds the Working Time Directive seven years since its implementation as the European Commission seeks to unpick the compromise that led to the notorious individual opt-out from maximum weekly working time. This article explores the roots of that controversy in the context of the Court of Justice’s expansive interpretation of the concept of ‘working time’. To what extent is it possible to maintain a health and safety guarantee but allow for more flexibility in the organisation of working time for individual workers in an increasingly heterogeneous working environment?

Notes: The article argues that, of the four major potential mechanisms for integration—the state, tripartite social partnerships, employer and employee organisations and shared values—in Central and Eastern Europe only the trade unions are contributing significantly towards national employment relations convergence. Against a background of imminent European Union accession, incorporation into global production systems, economic growth and gradual improvement in real incomes, four divergent employment relations systems are thus emerging: the state budget, privatised or about to be privatised, private and multinational.

Notes: Unions in Western Europe have tended to merge in larger organisations, straddling across traditional bargaining demarcations. Despite the trend towards union concentration, cross-national differences remain in the degree of fragmentation and the balance across private and public sectors. In the past years, wage moderation was common to nearly all bargaining systems, partly as a result of coordinated incomes policies or pattern-setting wage settlements. Tripartite concertation has proven more difficult because of increased dissatisfaction with modest pay increases and insufficient employment effects.

Notes: In 2003, equal opportunities policy in the European Union suffered both ups and downs. New opportunities came in the guise of the hotly contested new directive on gender equality outside the field of employment, in the invitation to present the first of an annual report on equality between women and men to the Spring Council, in the consolidation of gender mainstreaming within the second round of the National Action Plans on social inclusion and in the new commitments to ‘substantial reductions by 2010’ in gender gaps in employment, unemployment and pay that were included in the new employment guidelines in 2003. These new guidelines presented, however, a major challenge to gender equality as the new phase of the European Employment Strategy dispensed with the four pillars, and therefore the equal opportunities pillar. Instead gender equality became just one of 10 new guidelines. In December the launch of the Employment Taskforce report appeared to push employment policy back more to a ‘full employment with flexibility’ approach and away from concerns with job quality. The focus was therefore more on the integration of women into employment rather than on closing the equality gap.

Notes: Books reviewed:Ola Bergstrom and Donald Storrie (eds). Contingent Employment in Europe and the United States.
Reviewed by Ian KirkpatrickTonia Novitz. International and European Protection of the Right to Strike.
Reviewed by Lord McCarthyDeborah Foster and Peter Scott (eds). Trade Unions in Europe—Meeting the Challenge.
Reviewed by Michael GoldJeff Kenner. EU Employment Law. From Rome to Amsterdam and Beyond.
Reviewed by Simon DeakinVladimir Gimpelson and Douglas Lippoldt. The Russian Labour Market: Between Transition and Turmoil.
Reviewed by Gregory Schwartz

Notes: The current popularity of ‘partnership’ in workplace industrial relations raises the question of the durability of such arrangements. This article investigates the stability of cooperative employer–union relationships by means of case studies. It analyses perceptions of the experience of negotiation and consultation. Continuing net benefits are reported both by managers and by union representatives in workplaces where cooperative relationships are robust. The benefits come primarily from the informal consultative processes and levels of trust that are engendered. Nonetheless, parties to the relationship, however robust they were, faced substantial challenges to their efforts to diffuse and sustain cooperative working. It is concluded that cooperative relationships are likely to be stable where employers wish to maintain an independent employee voice, especially where workplace union density remains relatively high.

Notes: This article considers issues of workplace union strategy in a study of a National Health Service hospital trust in which the focus of the investigation is the ‘employee voice’ gains, or losses, arising from partnership and worker participation. The impact of government policy on local management and, in turn, employees’ opportunities to participate in organisational decision making is therefore the main theme explored in this analysis.

Notes: The academic debate on partnerships has so far mainly focused on whether there are mutual gains for both unions and employers and whether they support or undermine branch organisation. This debate is here assessed in relation to learning partnerships, which are considered to be a distinctive form of partnership and represent a process of institution-building.

Notes: Books reviewed:Robert Taylor. Social Democratic Trade Unionism: An Agenda for Action.
Reviewed by Peter AckersMark Freedland. The Personal Employment Contract.
Reviewed by Ann BlairJ. O’Reilly (ed.), Regulating Working-time transitions in Europe.
Reviewed by Paul BlytonHuw Beynon, Damian Grimshaw, Jill Rubery and Kevin Ward. Managing Employment Change: The New Realities of Work.
Reviewed by John Purcell Robert Taylor's Series of Reports for the ESRC's Future of Work Programme. 
Reviewed by Jason Heyes

Notes: This article seeks to add discussion of the intersection of gender and ethnicity to the debates on individualism and collectivism. In doing so, it challenges the prevailing view, in these debates, of the rise of individualism and the decline in collectivism. Through a study of black and minority ethnic women trade unionists, it shows how a differentiated workforce, rather than leading to individualism at work, may contribute to union renewal and inspire more creative forms of collectivism.

Notes: British trade unions have differing perspectives as to the desirability of UK membership of the eurozone. This paper provides a critical review of the spectrum of union views and highlights key points of disagreement and areas of common ground. An agenda for further reflection upon the euro by the unions is also offered. Finally, the paper considers union positions on the implications of the wider process of European integration for industrial relations.

Notes: The growth of agency work in recent years has posed a challenge to trade unions, which must decide if they will accept agency workers as part of their constituency and accept employment agencies as legitimate labour-market actors. This article analyses the reaction of British unions to agency work and identifies four main responses: exclusion, replacement, regulation and engagement. It concludes with an evaluation of union policies, which stresses the need for unions to secure broad regulation of the agency labour market either through multi-employer bargaining or employment law.

Notes: This study examines the increasingly complex challenges facing human resource management (HRM) in China following the country's accession to the WTO and, consequently, the implications for further reform of government policy and enterprise-level HRM practices. The article concludes that current HR practices among enterprises vary depending on ownership, industrial sector, location and history. The direction of future changes may depend on the level of involvement from external forces as well as internal strategies adopted by Chinese enterprises to survive.

Notes: This article draws on empirical evidence from Barclays Bank PLC to explore the impact of partnership on trade union organisation. It outlines the rationale, development, benefits and pitfalls of the partnership agreement between Barclays and Unifi. Particular attention is paid to the positive impact the agreement has had on systems of workplace representation and on the ways in which the partnership needs to develop to better serve the trade union side. It is argued that unions need to manage the risks of partnership, ensuring their continued legitimacy in the eyes of union members.

Notes: The Employment Relations Act 1999 (ERA) has provided trade unions in the UK with new opportunities for achieving recognition. After a long history of anti-unionism in the offshore oil and gas industry, employers have voluntarily ceded recognition to Trades Union Congress (TUC)-affiliated trade unions. The legitimacy of this recognition process has been contested by the non-TUC Offshore Industry Liaison Committee (OILC), an offshore workers’ union, seeking to act as a recognised bargaining agent. The ERA may be promoting ‘business friendly’ agreements at the expense of claims to recognition of other bargaining agents and of democratic employee choice.

Notes: Books reviewed:H. Gospel and S. Wood. Representing Workers: Union Recognition and Membership in Britain.
 Reviewed by Melanie SimmsPaul N. Gooderham and Odd Nordhaug (eds). International Management. Cross-boundary Challenges.
 Reviewed by Richard Croucher

Notes: Although the virtues of ‘HRM’ are widely espoused by its proponents, evidence of its widespread uptake by UK companies has invariably been disappointing. Why? A survey using questionnaires completed by 98 personnel and HR practitioners in a sample of 350 major UK companies was used to explore perceptions of ‘progress’ in implementing HRM, and this was followed-up by interviews of 24 survey respondents. While the survey and interview evidence clearly indicate that progress towards HRM is a profoundly contradictory and unfinished process, it also raises serious questions about the ability of the HR function and role to facilitate, oversee or lead processes of implementation.

Notes: This article explores the effects of the legal prohibition of age discrimination in New Zealand, based on a survey of the recruiting practices of individual organisations. Its findings indicate that many firms continue to breach the law through a continued emphasis on age during the recruitment process. Age-related information is directly or indirectly requested from a sizeable percentage of job applicants. The findings highlight the importance of the socio-economic context in which legislation is enacted. As with unwritten rules, the impact of law in a specific context is inevitably circumscribed by the deeply embedded nature of practice, especially if enforcement is lax.

Notes: In the US, corporate restructuring of financial and physical assets as well as work systems has been widespread. Our study examines the inter-relationship between ‘creative’ work systems and ‘destructive’ markets, using a sample of US manufacturing firms in the metalworking, jet engine production and steel processing industries.

Notes: This paper examines developments in union recognition in Britain between 1995–2002 and assesses the influence of the statutory provisions for gaining recognition contained in the Employment Relations Act 1999. The paper details the significant increase in new agreements, concluding that the new law is one important factor explaining this growth. Analysis is made of the nature and circumstances of the new agreements. Finally, the paper considers whether these developments indicate the turning of a corner for trends in recognition coverage.

Notes: The recent transformation of industrial relations in further education in England and Wales is examined, in particular the role of the national ‘Silver Book’ dispute over lecturers’ conditions of service in causing the erosion of national bargaining in the sector. The experience of further education points to the limits of the strategic choice approach as a device for explaining change in public sector industrial relations and to the importance of supplementing it with a perspective that emphasises the role of power.

Notes: Trade Unions and Management: Developing a Partnership Robert M. CartonSpiro Press, 2003, 143 pp., £14.95 (paperback) The Meaning of Militancy? Postal Workers and Industrial Relations Gregor GallAshgate, 2003, 364 pp., £55.00 (hardback) Studies in Labour Markets and Industrial Relations Mario Baldassarri and Bruno Chiarini (eds)Palgrave, 2003, 297 pp., £55.00 (hardback) The Future of the American Labor Movement Hoyt N. WheelerCambridge University Press, 2002, 257 pp., £18.99 (paperback)

Notes: The present paper tries to fill an important gap in our understanding of the specific nature of wage and employment differentiation in Russia during the period of transition. By presenting evidence from case studies at Russian industrial enterprises the account examines the role played by hierarchies in production, specifically the dynamics of core/periphery workforce segmentation, in helping to explain how the present economic conditions have acted to re-entrench specific forms of inequality. Exploring the processes of decision-making regarding employment, work and pay allocation, and promotion the paper will conclude with some central inferences as to why workforce segmentation is seen as an important means of obtaining control over labour.

Notes: This paper explores the apparent paradox that while unions exist to promote the interests and well-being of their members, UK survey evidence consistently shows that union members report lower levels of job satisfaction than non-union workers. A review and further analysis of the evidence confirms that this difference persists after controlling for other factors such as type of work. If union member dissatisfaction reflects a form of voice, then we might expect to see resulting gains. An analysis of data from the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey indicates that any gains are modest. Evidence is presented to suggest that although management has become less hostile to trade unions, a degree of anti-union sentiment remains, sometimes leading to a muffling of the union voice, and this helps to account for some of the union member dissatisfaction.