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This paper investigates how stockist brand equity is created in the unorganized pharma retail sector in emerging markets despite the absence of any proactive brand-building efforts by distribution firms (stockists). In addition, this study also aims to unravel the sources of stockist brand equity.

Drawing from grounded theory, a qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews was conducted, and a theoretical saturation approach was used for this purpose. The retailer–stockist (business-to-business [B2B]) relationship in the Indian pharmaceutical market context was used as the study context.

The findings show that in the absence of any brand-building activities, stockists’ sales representatives play an important role in creating stockist brand awareness. In addition, word of mouth from other retailers also plays a minor role. Rational and emotional brand associations which are strong, favorable and unique are created 1) directly by the services provided by stockists, which includes product availability, deliverability, accuracy in billing and batch numbers, credit facilities and discounts, handling issues such as product expiry, and 2) indirectly by the services provided by stockists’ sales representatives which includes their frequency of visits, proactive customer orientation rather than sales orientation, fulfilling commitments and relationship with retailers. The strength of the retailer–stockist (B2B) relationship also depends on retailer-driven factors and other external factors discussed in this study.

Strong stockist brand equity helps build trust and loyalty with pharmacies, ensuring a consistent and timely supply of medicinal products, which will benefit their end consumers or society.

This study identifies the antecedents determining the strength of the retailer–stockist (B2B) relationship, a precursor for establishing retailer-based stockist brand equity in the unorganized sector. This study also highlights the consequences of establishing strong retailer-based stockist brand equity.

Drawing on media richness theory and a framework of interpersonal communication goals, this study investigates how and why the IT industry's top managers use communication media to achieve their interaction goals in e-leadership.

A qualitative research approach is applied to understand top managers' communication media use and interaction goals. The empirical data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 33 top managers from large IT companies and analysed using theory-guided thematic and ideal-type analyses.

Top managers were categorized into three types, based on their communication goals through face-to-face communication. Relationship-oriented top managers pursued relational and communal goals, whereas task-oriented ones wished to achieve instrumental and communal goals. Task- and relationship-oriented top managers pursued relational, instrumental, and communal goals. This study indicates that communal, instrumental, relational, and self-presentational goals influence managers' communication media selection.

This study brings new knowledge to the management communication research field. It expands the framework of interpersonal communication goals by identifying communal goals as a new category, in addition to existing instrumental, relational and self-presentational goals. This study suggests that media richness theory could be advanced by recognizing that a broader set of communication goals – including communal, instrumental, relational, and self-presentational – influences managers' communication media selection.

Vocational education and training (VET) in Australia has for some time been driven by an agenda of “reasonable adjustment”, in which practices are modified to ensure equitable access and participation by disadvantaged students. However, the growing marketization of VET has instead encouraged the use of more flexible approaches to attract and retain students from diverse backgrounds. They have thus paralleled and confounded reasonable adjustment practices for inclusive development. This study sought to identify the moral dilemmas experienced by VET teachers arising from implementing reasonable adjustment practices.

This phenomenological research project used in-depth conversational interviews with 19 experienced VET teachers from a diversity of teaching fields to identify moral dilemmas experienced as arising from changes in their workplace contexts.

One of the identified dilemmas was responding flexibly to heightened student diversity, to which study participants largely responded by prioritising the economic imperative over social inclusion. Well-intended actions thus led to unintentionally damaging outcomes, raising important ethical questions about the relative value of economic and social development outcomes and the role of reasonable adjustment in their attainment. The study also highlights the lack of appropriate VET teacher training in managing ethical conflicts to minimise risks to themselves and their employing organizations.

As a case study of inclusive development policies in practice, this research may be seen as a cautionary tale for inclusive development policies in other countries with similarly strong VET economic and socially inclusive development policies for sustainability. The paper thus opens a dialogue for critical reflection on the current problems in a reasonable development approach in the field of comparative and international education. Those two parallel agendas have presented VET teachers and trainers with ethically challenging situations in which the economic and social development imperatives are experienced as being conflict with each other.

This study aims to focus on an innovative undergraduate teaching intervention designed to guide students in exploring and narrating the potential futures of climate change. The intervention aimed to reduce the psychological distance associated with climate change by systematically investigating futures in real-world contexts. The study had two objectives: to examine students’ learning outcomes by analysing their visions of a carbon-neutral future towards the end of the intervention and to measure the intervention’s impact on students’ understanding of climate change and their perceived ability to contribute effectively.

The intervention was implemented over two consecutive semesters. Data for analysis included student narratives from the final assignment (N = 140), where they envisioned life in a carbon-neutral city, and pre-/post-instruction surveys (N = 37) assessing content knowledge and action competence.

Content analysis of student narratives revealed 12 distinct themes, encompassing infrastructural and technological advancements, lifestyle adaptations and shifts in societal attitudes towards sustainability. Statistical analysis of the survey data demonstrated significant improvements in both variables. These findings suggest that the teaching intervention effectively enhanced students’ scientific understanding of climate change, increased their self-perceived ability to take action and fostered a realistic sense of life in a sustainable future.

This research introduces a novel teaching intervention exploring and narrating climate change futures. Analysing personal narratives provides fresh insights into how young individuals envision sustainable living within the context of climate change, thereby contributing a unique perspective to climate change education and future studies.

Readmissions to the hospital are expensive and can have negative health consequences for patients. Older adults are at greater risk of readmission. Patient perspectives are valuable in identifying areas for improvement in the transition of care. The purpose of this qualitative study is to increase our understanding of patients’ perspectives on the transition of care from hospital to primary care.

This study employs a qualitative methodology to conduct semi-structured interviews with patients who have been discharged from hospitals in the Ireland East Hospital Group region. Remote interviews were conducted with 18 participants from eight general practices. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis as described by Braun and Clarke.

The three main themes identified were communication, outpatient supports and patient education. Gaps in communication do occur, but patients are often too external to comment. Patients benefit from a wide variety of outpatient supports including general practice, family, carers, allied health professionals and voluntary organisations. Access and cost are barriers to these supports. Participants were generally positive towards proposed primary care-based interventions such as follow-up appointments with general practitioners (GPs) and education sessions.

This study highlights a number of areas for improvement in the transition of care in current practice including communication between services and access to outpatient care. It also suggests directions for further research, such as explorations of healthcare provider perspectives and pilot studies of readmission reduction interventions.

This study explores the role of international schools in creating safe and inclusive environments for lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) youth, particularly in light of the challenging political climate of the current prevailing authoritarian education policy in Poland. Drawing upon Merton’s concept of “educational functions” influenced by socio‐political and economic factors, we investigate how international schools navigate and subvert authoritarian policies to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion. Through a multi‐faceted approach analyzing curricula, media discourse, and school law documents, we examine the potential of international schools as agents of change in fostering educational inclusivity for marginalized groups. By examining the interplay between planned educational functions and implementation, the study sheds light on the potential of international schools to serve as inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ individuals in politically charged environments. Our findings highlight the positive impact of international education programs in supporting LGBTQ+ students and contributing valuable insights to ongoing discussions on promoting diversity and acceptance in educational settings. Ultimately, the findings contribute to ongoing discussions about the challenges and possibilities of fostering educational inclusivity for marginalized groups in such politically charged environments as authoritarian systems of education.

This study examined the impact of peer mentoring on identity transformation amongst women in prison, exploring how peer mentoring roles develop non-offender identities, contributing to the desistance process.

A qualitative, interpretative approach was adopted. The research was undertaken at a female prison in England and Wales. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with peer mentors, mentees, project workers and prison officers, alongside focus groups. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the findings.

Being a peer mentor contributes positively to identity transformation for women in prison, fostering a legitimate, non-offender identity critical to the desistance process. Mentors view their role as a desistance signal through their interactions with prison staff. However, it can lead to role conflict and tension with other women in prison and prison staff.

Future studies should consider longitudinal approaches to capture the long-term effects of peer mentoring upon desistance.

Recommendations include leveraging peer mentoring as a rehabilitative intervention, providing ongoing support for mentors and educating prison staff on programme benefits to foster a supportive environment.

Enhancing peer mentoring programmes can improve the well-being of women in prison and support their reintegration into society.

This study examined identity transformation in female peer mentors in prison through the lens of social identity and group membership. To the author’s knowledge, no previous studies have focused centrally on identity or applied social identity theory to explore the psychological mechanisms behind these transformations.

The governance of our towns and cities requires an approach that connects people with nature and places. Digital technology can be the glue that does this, if it serves the needs of the various stakeholders, including urban communities. It means identifying the potential connections across people, digital, and place themes, examining successful approaches, and exploring some of the current practice (or lack of it) in spatial planning and smart cities. This can be considered using a range of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies with other methodologies which combine the use of socioeconomic and environmental data about the urban environment. This ambient domain sensing can provide the ecological and other data to show how digital connectivity is addressing the placemaking challenges alongside providing implications for urban governance and communities.

This paper aims to understand the experiences of disabled doctoral students at one Aotearoa New Zealand University, identifying barriers to accessibility and meaningful participation, and enabling practices.

This research was underpinned by the social model of disability and used an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach. A survey comprising closed and freeform questions was distributed to all doctoral students. From the 64 respondents, 12 also took part in an unstructured, narrative interview. Data were analysed using a combination of methods: descriptive statistics, thematic analysis and poetic inquiry.

Findings are presented mainly as data poetry. The poems centre on complexities faced by disabled doctoral students, and articulate challenges, enabling practices and possibilities for the future encountered by students in this study. Findings are additionally supported with quotes from narrative interviews, open-ended survey questions and descriptive data analysis.

The poetic inquiry approach gives voice to the collective experiences of disabled students. The poetic texts bear witness to the intersections of disability, impairment, chronic illness, neurodiversity and doctoral study, and the lives of students who navigate these intersections. These poems voice and seek to be lightning-rods for social change.