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The purpose of this paper is to introduce the relational view of unethical pro-organisational behaviour (UPB) to explain interpersonal paths of influence on employees’ engagement in UPB. The proposed relational view of UPB is grounded in Darwall’s second-person philosophy.

This research design involves two quantitative studies – a pilot study with 340 subjects and the main study with 310 employees. The structural equation modelling data analysis was conducted using the R language software.

The findings provided initial support for the relational view of UPB. Study 1 revealed that employees’ accountability (perceived as personal obligation) influenced their engagement in UPB. Furthermore, Study 2 strengthens the theory and findings from Study 1 that employees’ moral organisational identification influences their engagement in UPB over the influence of employees’ identification with the organisation.

The findings extend the nomological network of UPB and extant theoretical knowledge on the moral self by uncovering how moral accountability and personal obligation have a “dark side”.

The findings indicate that practitioners should address the impact of employee interpersonal relationships on their perceived obligation to engage in UPB.

The authors provided an original use of Darwall’s second-person standpoint as the philosophical foundation to integrate accountability and identity theories, to explain interpersonal influences on employees’ engagement in UPB.

This preliminary investigation aims to examine the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients and staff within a high secure service.

To discern the connection between COVID-19-related distress and multiple factors, the study involved 31 patients and 34 staff who completed assessments evaluating coping strategies, resilience, emotional reactivity, ward atmosphere and work-related aspects.

Results demonstrated that around a third of staff (31.2%) experienced COVID-19-related distress levels that met the clinical cut-off for possible post-traumatic stress disorder. Emotional reactivity, staff shortages, secondary traumatic stress and coping strategies were all positively correlated with COVID-19-related-distress. Resilience was negatively associated with distress, thus acting as a potential mitigating factor. In comparison, the prevalence of distress among patients was low (3.2%).

The authors postulate that increased staff burdens during the pandemic may have led to long-term distress, while their efforts to maintain minimal service disruption potentially shielded patients from psychological impacts, possibly lead to staff “problem-focused coping burnout”. This highlights the need for in-depth research on the enduring impacts of pandemics, focusing on mechanisms that intensify or alleviate distress. Future studies should focus on identifying effective coping strategies for crisis situations, such as staff shortages, and strategies for post-crisis staff support.

The authors postulate that the added burdens on staff during the pandemic might have contributed to their distress. Nonetheless, staff might have inadvertently safeguarded patients from the pandemic’s psychological ramifications by providing a “service of little disruption”, potentially leading to “problem-focused coping burnout”. These findings underscore the imperative for further research capturing the enduring impacts of pandemics, particularly scrutinising factors that illuminate the mechanisms through which distress is either intensified or alleviated across different groups. An avenue worth exploring is identifying effective coping styles for pandemics.

This chapter focuses on the nuanced interplay between celebrity culture, fashion, and gender norms, examining how the sartorial choices of actors Timothée Chalamet, Paul Mescal, and Barry Keoghan challenge and redefine traditional constructs of masculinity. Through a detailed analysis of their appearances at high-profile events and in fashion editorials, the chapter analyses the implications of their fashion choices. By focusing on the actors’ deliberate deviation from conventional menswear, the analysis illuminates the evolving landscape of gender expression within the realm of celebrity influence. The exploration begins by considering the technological aspects of photography that spotlight the actors, emphasising their attire over other elements within the image. The compositional modality reveals a deliberate challenge to gender norms, as evidenced by Chalamet’s gender-bending ensembles, Mescal’s avant-garde choices, and Keoghan’s playful engagement with traditionally feminine aesthetics. The social modality contextualises these choices within broader societal and cultural trends, highlighting the role of celebrity culture in shaping public perceptions of gender and fashion. Ultimately, this chapter argues that these celebrities’ fashion decisions not only reflect personal style but also contribute to a cultural shift towards more fluid and inclusive expressions of masculinity. By straddling the line between personal expression and societal influence, their public appearances offer a rich site for examining how contemporary celebrity culture both challenges and perpetuates traditional gender hierarchies. The analysis underscores the potential of celebrity-driven fashion to serve as a catalyst for redefining masculinity in the modern age, suggesting a gradual, yet significant, shift in societal norms and expectations.

This chapter focuses on the interplay between visual culture and the construction of masculinities, focusing on the mediated representations of promotional appearances of actors Timothée Chalamet, Paul Mescal, and Barry Keoghan. The chapter examines the site of production of these images and argues that understanding the nuanced production of masculinities extends beyond mere aesthetics, requiring a critical examination of the external narratives and conditions underpinning image creation. The chapter situates these visual representations within the broader politics of their production, offering a lens through which to interrogate the decision-making processes and contextual factors that shape our appreciation of these images. The chapter explains how traditional gender norms are challenged and queered, thereby subverting conventional expectations of cisgender heterosexual masculinity. It critically examines the technological, compositional, and social modalities inherent in image production, revealing how camera technology, stylistic expression, and the symbiotic relationship between images, celebrity culture, and capitalist imperatives influence narrative authenticity and the portrayal of gender. By unpacking the motives behind image production and consumption, this inquiry unveils the complex dynamics of identity, queerbaiting practices, and the commodification of gender and sexuality within media representations. It prompts reflection on the emancipatory potential of visual artefacts against their entanglement with profit-driven agendas and normative constructs, advocating for a vigilant approach to the consumption of visual culture. This critical examination not only challenges existing gender norms but also highlights the susceptibility of images to co-option by dominant discourses, urging a deeper understanding of masculinity in contemporary visual culture.

Digital forensic investigators (DFIs) encounter traumatic material, and this is associated with the development of secondary traumatic stress (STS). Limited research has been conducted with UK DFIs, a significant concern given their role. This study aims to explore levels of self-reported STS by DFIs, the relationship to gender, years as a DFI, frequency of exposure to traumatic material and difficulty coping with such material. This study also aims to provide insight into the psychological impact, identify potential risk groups and explore coping strategies within this specific group of professionals.

A correlational cross-sectional design was conducted at a fixed point in time, with a sample of 114 currently employed DFIs, recruited through the Forensic Capability Network.

Mean STS scores fell within the moderate range, although 29.9% of participants reported high to severe levels. Significant correlations were found between STS total and subscales with difficulty viewing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). While females reported higher mean STS scores, the difference was not statistically significant, however, females did score significantly higher on the arousal sub-scale of the STS. Regression analysis included the variables (COPE scale and subscales, frequency of viewing child abuse material, years spent working as a DFI, age, gender) that identified mental disengagement, difficulty viewing CSAM and younger age as predictors of increased STS.

Primarily, the reliance on self-report instruments lacks external validation of STS. Furthermore, possible response or selection basis could have stemmed from participants experiencing high stress. Hosting the study online hindered exploring this further, suggesting the potential for future research. Although the regression model explained 28% of STS variance, unaccounted factors remain, constituting 72% unexplained variance. A mixed method approach might unveil additional variables, addressing potential limitations. Additionally, this study was cross-sectional meaning that the authors cannot infer causation.

These findings underscore the need for educational efforts targeting DFI’s to raise awareness about potential mental health risks associated with CSAM-related work. Equally crucial is emphasising the hazards associated with adopting negative coping strategies. Equipping DFI’s with this knowledge may enable them to make informed decisions aimed at minimising the impact of job-related stressors. Moreover, it highlights the necessity of recognising DFIs as a group deserving access to professional and mental health support. It is pertinent to consider recent research highlighting the stigma of therapy and a prevailing perception of a “critical or judgemental workplace culture” among UK investigators.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study represents the first known exploration of STS in UK-based DFI’s, encompassing an investigation into potential risk and protective factors. A proportion of the sample reported experiencing mild to severe levels of STS, with the mean STS score falling within the moderate range. Notably, 29.9% of participants reported high to severe levels of STS.

The findings provide an inaugural exploration of STS among UK-based DFI’s, offering crucial insight into the psychological impact, vulnerable demographics and coping strategies within this unique professional context. Practical implications based on the findings are considered.

The purpose of this qualitative, single-case study was to explore the development of Jamaica’s maritime education and training (MET) curriculum within the local education context. In this research, the story of the development and sustainability of the local MET curriculum in its 40-year journey from 1980 to present (post 2020), as communicated by various maritime stakeholders and archival documents, is chronicled.

The study utilized a qualitative orientation and was an embedded single-case study in its design. The entire local MET institution community and those legislatively and operationally allied to its sustained viability constituted the general population of this study. Non-probability sampling techniques were used to arrive at a maximum variation sample. Three sources of data were used in this study: individual interviews, focus group discussions and documents.

The Jamaican (local) MET curriculum was the brainchild of local perspicacity that was empowered by international benevolence. It was developed to satisfy market demands that existed at the time of its inception. These market requirements of the maritime industry are what impacted the development of the local MET curriculum over four decades. Several other factors led to the sustained viability of the local MET curriculum. These included the ability of the local MET curriculum to meet direct market needs and maintain its fitness for purpose.

It is the view of the researcher that the findings of this study were limited by the fact that the voices of current students and employers from the four decades of the curriculum's existence are not represented in this initial study. The perspectives from these two sources would have broadened the description presented in this study.

This research has shown that specialized higher education (HE) institutions are better served in their business when they maintain a symbiotic relationship with the industry for which they are producing graduates.

The treatment of HE as a service industry has gained traction globally. This would suggest that ‘product placement' in specialized HE is important to the growth, development and longevity of that course of study within the society in which it exists.

There is a dearth of national research on Jamaica's four-decades-old MET curriculum and the elements that lend to the sustained viability of same. This discussion of sustainability of the MET curriculum will benefit maritime educators and policymakers, who must continue to hone this curriculum so that it is fit for purpose. The study will also identify some of the elements of a sustainable, specialized HE curriculum. The elements identified herein can serve as exemplars and conceptual starting points for other contexts where the discussion of the sustainability of curriculum needs to be had.

This paper examined the significance of the built environment for shaping inclusion and social connections in housing with care (HwC) schemes for older people (50+ years) in England and Wales. The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of how the availability, absence and use of communal spaces impacts social connections with other residents within HwC schemes.

Longitudinal and cross-sectional qualitative interviews were conducted with 72 residents across three HwC providers in England and Wales. Data were analysed using a thematic framework approach to examine how residents experienced their living environments.

Whilst the presence of communal shared spaces helps facilitate social connections and the development of friendships, full and equal access to these spaces remains challenging for residents with minority characteristics, and/or physical impairments. Building designers need to ensure they are complying with building regulations and the Equalities Act. The presence of on-site staff may also help to manage the impact of discriminatory attitudes.

A key strength of this study is its design, both in using longitudinal and cross-sectional interviews and in recruiting respondents with marginalised characteristics, whose voices have often been excluded in gerontological research. Another strength, albeit unexpected, is that this study was able to capture perspectives across the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic, however, may also have generated some limitations in this study. COVID-19 restrictions limited the ability to engage face-to-face within housing schemes whose residents were predominantly from different ethnic minoritised groups, and it therefore limits the inclusion of the voices and experiences of these groups. Responses in later interviews may also have been influenced by the changes in social engagement stimulated by lockdowns and may only be specific to the context of the pandemic. However, the findings reported here focus on the role and use of the built environment, and much of the interview content would feasibly apply regardless of the pandemic.

This research offers some key insights and implications for housing providers and policy. Housing providers and architects must ensure that the design of HwC schemes affords all residents access to every area of the built environment to maintain independence, autonomy and to adopt the ethos of the ageing in place agenda. If communal areas are to function as “third” or social spaces – if they are to remain equally accessible to all members of the community – then building providers must ensure that all areas are accessible to all residents in line with building regulations and the Equality Act (2010).

Housing staff need to balance the natural development of friendship groups with the potential of the formation of exclusionary “cliques” within HwC schemes. Such cliques threaten the accomplishment of communal areas as “third” or social spaces and, as such, impact the quality of life for residents.

This study offers insights into how built environments support the development of social connections and friendships in HwC schemes. It also identifies ways that housing managers can ensure that all residents feel equally valued and included.

This paper aims to investigate the factors that influence millennial purchase behaviour, brand choice and distribution channel selection in an evolving technology-driven environment.

The study was exploratory, using qualitative methods of personal interviews and some ethnographic observations to collect data from 585 millennials from ten cities in nine African countries.

Findings from the study confirm and support the critical role of e-commerce in facilitating millennials engagement with brands, highlighting how brand purchases are integral to their lifestyle choices. There is an overwhelming confirmation of the importance of influencer marketing and social media in shaping purchase decisions, with new insights into the role of local micro-influencers and social networks. The findings from the study highlight the pivotal role of a brand’s country of origin in influencing millennials’ brand preferences. The study supports and advances insights into the importance of online shopping and diverse factors influencing millennials’ selection of distribution channels.

There is an opportunity to leverage the growing mobile telephone penetration and social media usage to develop innovative integrated marketing communications strategies. There are opportunities for co-creating marketing communication campaigns with millennials in different settings. These are outlined in the practical implications section.

The paper is based on original empirical data collected from ten countries and explores the behaviour of a growing but under-researched segment of millennials in Africa.

This study aims to explore the impact of precision teaching (PT) on living skills in an individual with Dravet syndrome (DS). Focusing on a core case of a 14-year-old with DS, it assesses the role of PT in mastering the daily living skill of putting on a jacket, integrating a component-composite approach.

The research adopts a within-subject design, emphasising the transition from component skills to composite skills in daily living tasks. Using an environmental modification, it tracks the participant’s progress in putting on a jacket pre- and post-PT intervention.

Significant enhancements in the independent execution of putting on a jacket were observed, highlighting PT’s effectiveness in refining living skills in DS. The study offers valuable insights into the component-composite framework of skill acquisition and the use of environmental modifications.

While improvements were noted, the study suggests further research to promote the long-term sustainability of PT’s impact on living skills in DS.

The study underscores PT’s practical benefits in enhancing daily living skills among DS individuals. It provides a strategic model for educators and therapists focusing on skill development.

This research emphasises the importance of specialised, effective teaching methods like PT in fostering independence and quality of life for individuals with disabilities, advocating for tailored educational approaches.

This investigation examines the efficacy of PT for developing living skills in DS; it contributes novel perspectives to special education and therapeutic interventions.

This study aims to fill various gaps detected in the literature on mass prestige (hereafter referred to as masstige) theory. The originality of the work stems from the multidimensional application of Paul’s (2015) model, the introduction of brand addiction as a construct from the consumer-brand relationship (CBR) theory within the context of wines and the exploration of a new and less studied sector in masstige strategies.

A structured questionnaire was distributed to collect data from masstige wine brand buyers in Portugal, of whom 166 completed the questionnaire correctly. A conceptual model was developed and tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling.

The findings include that only two dimensions of Paul’s (2015) masstige scale affect brand addiction: brand knowledge and excitement and status. Brand addiction has a positive effect on brand loyalty and electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and brand loyalty has a positive impact on eWOM. Theoretical and managerial implications were explored.

This research added a CBR perspective to masstige theory and applied masstige theory to wine brands for the first time. These three distinctive aspects collectively contribute to the novelty and significance of the research, opening up exciting possibilities for future investigations and providing a valuable contribution to the academic community and the wine industry alike.