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Looks at the changes which have occurred following Northern Ireland′s Training and Employment Agency (T&EA) launch. Discusses the role of the administration manager, particularly with regard to Northern Ireland′s 95 per cent of small businesses and the organization and delivery of programmes, most of which come from outside agencies. Makes the observation that a new type of training programme is required and lists and discusses this. Concludes that the new programmes for middle and junior managers to acquire qualifications are positive steps forward in the small business area.

Profiles the development of the project IWW/Earth First Local 1, a group which brought loggers and environmentalists together in an attempt to combine labour and ecology issues. Describes anarchosyndicalist ideas that formed the basis of this alliance, suggesting that these have some merit for present day ecologists. Considers the common ground shared by labour and ecology movements and presents some learnings from the project for future mainstream environmental policies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of the Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement (GFA) through the lens of sport, particularly football, and with reference to theoretical literature on peace-making processes.

The paper is structured in such a way as to review theoretical literature, to consider the nature of the Northern Ireland problem and its implications for sport, to critique the current settlement and to demonstrate its failings using sport as an exemplar. The methods used are a critical review of relevant literature combined with reflections on the author's own involvement in sport and community relations.

The paper argues that the GFA has resulted in a consociational “solution” to the Northern Ireland problem. The example of sport, and especially the standing of the Northern Ireland football team, indicates that such a settlement fails to address the central problem of two divided communities with different political aspirations and attitudes towards national identity.

The analysis is limited to the extent that it adopts an essentially top down approach. The findings deserve to be confirmed (or indeed refuted) at some future point by a gathering data from football fans and others. However, the implications are that the terms of the GFA should be revisited in the light of evidence of the failings of the current settlement not only as found in this paper but based on recent political developments.

The Irish Football Association has to address the perception that appears prevalent amongst some Catholic players that they are not wanted by the national association. Politicians need to renew their efforts to create greater mutual understanding instead of fooling themselves that so long as they can talk to each other, the communities they represent will remain peaceful.

I doubt if any academic author has had the same degree of involvement in relation to the role of sport in the Northern Ireland peace process. What gives the paper its particular value, however, is the fact that it is probably unique in looking at sport in Northern Ireland with specific reference to political science peace-making literature.

E-commerce live streaming is a new influencer advertising method that allows influencers to interact directly with consumers on e-commerce platforms. Although evidence suggests that influencer live-streaming advertisements (ads) on social media can increase consumers’ buying impulses, little research examined how this similar but new advertising method on e-commerce platforms may influence consumers’ urge to buy impulsively. This study explores the role of influencer credibility, celebrity effect, perceived entertainment, trust and perceived usefulness on consumers’ attitudes toward influencer ads and their urge to buy impulsively.

A questionnaire containing seven constructs was developed and distributed to participants using a convenient sample and snowball sampling approach. The constructs were measured based on validated measurement items from the literature and adjusted according to this study’s focus. A total of 236 valid responses were obtained from the survey and used for data analysis. A partial least squares structural equation modeling approach was employed for parameter estimation and model testing.

The empirical results show that all constructs influenced consumers’ urge to buy impulsively via attitude toward influencer ads. The proposed research model explains 61.7% of the variance in attitude toward influencer ads and 19.4% of the urge to buy impulsively.

This is an early study investigating the relationship between influencer advertising and impulse buying. The results provide valuable insights into improving the design of influencer ads and marketing strategies.

1. I-eIB model tests the mechanism of influencer ads on consumers’ buying impulse.

2. Consumers’ attitude towards influencer ads affects their urge to buy impulsively.

3. Influencer credibility affects consumer attitude via celebrity effect as a mediator.

4. Trust affects consumer attitude via perceived usefulness as a mediator.

5. Entertaining ads help develop favorable consumer attitude.

I-eIB model tests the mechanism of influencer ads on consumers’ buying impulse.

Consumers’ attitude towards influencer ads affects their urge to buy impulsively.

Influencer credibility affects consumer attitude via celebrity effect as a mediator.

Trust affects consumer attitude via perceived usefulness as a mediator.

Entertaining ads help develop favorable consumer attitude.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the operational implications and strategic actions involved in talent management (TM) in Scotland.

The paper is based on a literature review and focus groups comprising members of the Board of the Scottish Tourism Forum.

This paper finds that, in an industry with generally high labour turnover and rather negative public image as an employer, TM – in attracting, developing and retaining people – has significant potential to contribute to changing approaches to managing people and to improving opinions on careers in this sector.

Practical implications are that: individual businesses adopt TM approaches that best suit their business, employees and customers; industry bodies and leaders present exemplary practice in TM; business strategies including TM initiatives are actively supported by senior and operational managers in organisations; and educators develop, in liaison with the industry, toolkits for the implementation and evaluation of TM initiatives.

Any practitioner or academic interested in gaining insight into the practice and potential of TM, especially in the Scottish context, will find the paper valuable.

Conflicting claims have been made in relation to the effects of polypropylene fibres on the compressive strength of concrete. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects on compressive strength of various dosages of monofilament polypropylene fibres when used in concrete. Compressive strength is widely used as the key indicator of concrete quality and therefore needs accurate determination. Monofilament fibres and air entrainment provide a similar function in that they provide freeze/thaw protection, they are both compared against a plain concrete sample to determine relative strength and density.

Two different concrete design strengths (medium and high) were examined with varying amounts and types of polypropylene fibre fraction/volume to establish a common link between fibre additions and reduced final compressive strength.

The findings from the test programme showed a linear reduction in strength which was observed as being directly related to fibre inclusion in concrete. Density was also found to be reduced with the addition of fibres in a similar degree to that of air entrainment.

The lower density of concrete with polypropylene fibre additions was not scientifically explained and this aspect currently forms part of a long term freeze/thaw research programme, which will examine pore spacing and void formation compared to plain concrete.

This paper is of interest to clients, concrete manufacturers, concrete additive manufacturers, designers, surveyors and specifiers who need to know what effect polypropylene fibre additives have upon the final compressive strength.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate customer loyalty in the online-to-offline (O2O) model by conceptualizing and measuring emotion and cognition.

An online survey was used to collect 514 questionnaire responses. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Three emotional factors influence two cognitive factors, which in turn affect customer loyalty. The type of message source acts as a moderator. In addition to pleasure and arousal, dominance is a key factor of emotion. The effects of social enhancement and store environment on customer loyalty reflect the O2O model’s integration of online and offline environments.

The moderating role of the type of message source implies that marketers of brick-and-mortar stores can promote positive offline experiences to attract online customers and then encourage these customers to disseminate personal messages in their social circles. By attracting online customers through appealing m-services and retaining these customers through favorable store environments, marketers can maximize the utility of the O2O model.

Three emotional factors and two cognitive factors are conceptualized to predict customer loyalty in the O2O model. This study shows that the relationships between cognitive factors and customer loyalty are moderated by the type of message source. When check-in activity messages are sent by friends, the perception of social enhancement can lead to greater customer loyalty. In contrast, when check-in activity messages are sent by unfamiliar sources, customer loyalty is driven more by cognition of the store environment than by online interaction. The findings enrich existing knowledge of the O2O model and m-services, and have implications for researchers and marketers.

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.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how social loneliness, emotional loneliness and social isolation relate to Indian consumers’ enjoyment of social interaction with an in-store salesperson.

Over 300 Indian respondents are surveyed about personal disposition, shopping experiences and other factors. The research model and hypotheses are evaluated utilizing partial least squares structural equation modeling.

As posited, Indian consumers dealing with loneliness and social isolation tend to enjoy in-store shopping experiences involving personal interactions with salespersons. Further, salespersons’ adaptive selling relates positively to consumers’ predisposition to comply with salesperson input and three outcomes (i.e. trust in salesperson, purchase intention and retail patronage).

This study fills a void in current marketing and retailing literature, providing one of the first known empirical investigations of consumers’ experiences with loneliness and social isolation. Overall, the study shows that store-based retailers within culturally collectivistic emerging markets can capitalize on their unique ability to attract and retain shoppers through in-store salesperson interactions.

This article aims to produce some practical evidence of how management innovation can be encouraged in the context of a small hotel group. The analysis is developed from a review of literature on entrepreneurship combined with a practical managerial perspective on operations management.