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This study aims to contribute knowledge about different professional identities represented among HR practitioners from Weber's “ideal types” framework.

The paper is based on semi-structured interviews with 34 Swedish HR practitioners working in large public and private organisations.

The findings reveal that HR practitioners' identity is perceived as indistinct, unclear and shattered, which leaves lots of room for interpreting HR identity. Based on a thematic content analysis, three different ideal-type identities are presented, each representing the characteristic traits of an HR identity type. These are the Defender who always supports the managers, the Disturber who questions the managers in favour of the employees and the Driver who focuses on the economic expansion of the organisation.

One of the potential constraints of this study is the authors’ reliance on interview data. This finding implies that future research can employ mixed methods or observational techniques to bridge the gap between narrated responsibilities and real-time actions. The data source, predominantly from larger organisations, presents another limitation. This raises a significant research implication: there is a need to study identity formation among HR practitioners in smaller organisations. The theoretical framework this study contributes can aid in comprehending HR practitioners' identities and their corresponding actions. Continued research might explore the significance of these ideal-type identities.

The model presented provides a new way of understanding HR practitioners' complex and shattered professional identity and the various stakeholders that direct different expectations towards them. This knowledge can be used both in HR education and in HR work as a basis for discussing the social work environment of HR practitioners and negotiating their work and identity.

The study contributes knowledge of the professional identities of HR managers, an under-researched area, especially when it comes to empirical research about the HR practitioners' own experiences of their everyday work and view of the HR profession.

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.

This chapter focuses on the complex dynamics of how photographs, particularly those related to celebrity fashion that challenge traditional gender norms, navigate the spaces from production to reception. By focusing on the processes of circulating and audiencing, the chapter examines the transformations images undergo and the varying interpretations they elicit as they move across different platforms and audiences. The study foregrounds the notion that photographs are not merely passive visual objects but active participants in the negotiation of cultural meanings and identities, especially concerning masculinities. Through an analysis of public appearances of Timothée Chalamet, Paul Mescal, and Barry Keoghan, the chapter explores the technological, compositional, and social modalities that influence these images’ circulation and reception. It highlights how alterations in the context of circulation can subtly or significantly affect audience interpretation, highlighting the role of viewers in constructing meanings around masculinities. This exploration illustrates the broader implications of visual culture in contemporary discussions on gender, revealing how circulating images and audiencing practices contribute to shaping and challenging societal norms and expectations of masculinity. By navigating the intersections of technology, composition, and society, this chapter contributes to a deeper understanding of the power dynamics at play in the visual representation of gender.