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This paper presents findings from an exploration of the experiences of staff employed on sessional, part-time or fixed-term contracts (termed contingent staff), focusing on their perceptions and experiences of identity within a UK higher education context.

A comparative case study approach was adopted within a qualitative, interpretivist framework. Semi-structured interviews were used to facilitate an in-depth comparative analysis of the experiences of 11 contingent staff. Thematic analysis was employed to compare identity and practice across two settings to uncover distinct and shared factors.

Participants highlight several critical issues within the study units, including identity and perceived value, team dynamics, clarity of roles and the sense of inclusion within the broader academic community. The findings also reveal that the boundaries between educational roles – including educator, facilitator, coach, mentor and those associated with pastoral care – are increasingly indistinct, suggesting a convergence of pedagogical approaches and holistic practice.

This study provides insights into the underexplored area of pedagogic practice and identity among contingent staff in the UK higher education sector. Unlike previous research, which may broadly examine mentoring roles or apprenticeship outcomes, this study specifically highlights educators' identity perceptions and experiences on contingent contracts, providing a lens on their professional landscape. Employing a comparative case study design enhances the findings by allowing an in-depth juxtaposition of experiences across two distinct higher education institutions.

This case study aims to review the impact of using the transtheoretical model of behavioural change in the design of a digital pension journey with the intension of increasing engagement by employees at the point of retirement in their pension choices.

This case study considers the employee engagement with an existing digital pension journey before and after the tool is redesigned using the transtheoretical model of behavioural change.

This case study highlights the positive impact of using the transtheoretical model of behavioural change in designing a digital pension journey, highlighting the benefit of supporting employees in the pre-contemplation and contemplation stages of their engagement with their pension.

The transtheoretical model of behavioural change has traditionally been used to help people overcome addictions and other problematic behaviours. This case study highlights how it can be used in other settings to support behavioural change.

This paper explores and analyses the major challenges faced by both customer-facing and office-based public transport employees during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic and the responses of their employers to their concerns.

Qualitative semi-structured interviews and focus groups were carried out, involving 39 employees and directors representing a wide range of professionals working in the transport sector in three European countries, Poland, Ireland and the UK. Data were analysed through thematic analysis and the emerging issues explored.

Major employee challenges included: access to resources for safe working; worker mental health and well-being; and the effects of changing working practices, particularly flexible working, on their wider household circumstances and work–life balance (especially combining childcare responsibilities with work). First, physical health safety measures (such as PPE) were put in place for all workers, although sometimes with delays. Second, concerning practical support for mental health and well-being at work, the findings highlight that their employers’ practical support was considered limited by some customer-facing participants. In contrast, participants working from home were offered considerably greater employer support for their well-being, including increased and regular communication regarding work and non-work-related topics to tackle isolation and lack of social interactions. Third, work–life balance, and especially childcare were significant issues for those working from home. To improve organisational resilience, employer support for workers needs to better reflect employees’ job role, work setting and location, as well as their household demands such as childcare.

The lessons learned from this study contribute to future employer responses and practices and their organisational resilience, both in times of major crises and also for improving mental-health and childcare support in normal times.

The study considers the role of employee perspectives on organisational resilience and service continuity in public transport during a crisis and in three countries. Importantly, the data were gathered contemporaneously during the early stages of the pandemic, and so are not influenced by retrospective rationalisation or uncertain recollections.

This study proposes a novel method utilising a speech-word pair bipartite network to examine the correlation structure between members of parliament (MPs) in the context of the UK- China relationship.

We construct MP-word pair bipartite networks based on the co-occurrence relationship between MPs and words in their speech content. These networks are then mapped into monopartite MPs correlation networks. Additionally, the study calculates correlation network indicators and identifies MP communities and factions to determine the characteristics of MPs and their interrelation in the UK-China relationship. This includes insights into the distribution of key MPs, their correlation structure and the evolution and development trends of MP factions.

Analysis of the parliamentary speeches on China-related affairs in the British Parliament from 2011 to 2020 reveals that the distribution and interrelationship of MPs engaged in UK-China affairs are centralised and discrete, with a few core MPs playing an integral role in the UK-China relationship. Among them, MPs such as Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, David Cameron, Lord Hunt of Chesterton and Lord Howell of Guildford formed factions with significant differences; however, the continuity of their evolution exhibits unstableness. The core MP factions, such as those led by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and David Cameron, have achieved a level of maturity and exert significant influence.

The research has several limitations that warrant acknowledgement. First, we mapped the MP-word pair bipartite network into the MP correlation network for analysis without directly analysing the structure of MPs based on the bipartite network. In future studies, we aim to explore various types of analysis based on the proposed bipartite networks to provide more comprehensive and accurate references for studying UK-China relations. In addition, we seek to incorporate semantic-level analyses, such as sentiment analysis of MPs, into the MP-word -pair bipartite networks for in-depth analysis. Second, the interpretations of MP structures in the UK-China relationship in this study are limited. Consequently, expertise in UK-China relations should be incorporated to enhance the study and provide more practical recommendations.

Firstly, the findings can contribute to an objective understanding of the characteristics and connotations of UK-China relations, thereby informing adjustments of focus accordingly. The identification of the main factions in the UK-China relationship emphasises the imperative for governments to pay greater attention to these MPs’ speeches and social relationships. Secondly, examining the evolution and development of MP factions aids in identifying a country’s diplomatic focus during different periods. This can assist governments in responding promptly to relevant issues and contribute to the formulation of effective foreign policies.

First, this study expands the research methodology of parliamentary debates analysis in previous studies. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to study the UK-China relationship through the MP-word-pair bipartite network. This outcome inspires future researchers to apply various knowledge networks in the LIS field to elucidate deeper characteristics and connotations of UK-China relations. Second, this study provides a novel perspective for UK-China relationship analysis, which deepens the research object from keywords to MPs. This finding may offer important implications for researchers to further study the role of MPs in the UK-China relationship.

This study proposes a novel scheme for analysing the correlation structure between MPs based on bipartite networks. This approach offers insights into the development and evolving dynamics of MPs.