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This paper provides a discussion on the implementation of formal assessment of work placement within a retail sandwich degree at the Manchester Metropolitan University. Outlines the Retail Marketing degree and placement programme. Explains the key components of placement assessment: professional practice; personal skills and the placement project. Concludes that successful assessment relies on careful briefing and preparation of students prior to placement and close liaison between placement tutor, employer and student during the sandwich period.

Student perceptions of service quality in higher education, particularly of the elements not directly involved with content and delivery of course units, are researched using a performance‐only adaptation of the SERVQUAL research instrument. A principal components factor analysis performed on data collected from a sample of 333 undergraduate business and management students suggests that students’ perceived service quality has three dimensions: “requisite elements”, which are essential to enable students to fulfil their study obligations; “acceptable elements”, which are desirable but not essential to students; and “functional elements”, which are of a practical or utilitarian nature. A comparison of perceptions of service quality between first and final year students suggests that perceptions of service quality elements change over a period of study, with “acceptable elements” having increasing importance. Implications for course management teams are discussed, and suggestions for further research are made.

Dunkin’ Donuts is a global retailer of coffee and bakery products. The company is 99 per cent franchised and has used the franchising system as a route to market entry and expansion worldwide. The original historic roots of the company are in the USA and despite wide international expansion since the 1970s, the US market continues to serve as a testing ground for innovations prior to international roll‐out. Based on observation and key informant interviews with core members of the management team during a visit to Richmond Project in 1994, the case explores the initial phase of the introduction of a central production facility as an innovative route to pre‐eminence in one test market. Strategic and operational issues are discussed, highlighting the differences and efficiency gains of the central production facility cum satellite store approach compared to the traditional stand‐alone on‐site production approach. Implications for future developments are discussed.

Dunkin’ Donuts is a global retailer of coffee and bakery products. The company is 99 per cent franchised and has used the franchising system as a route to market entry and expansion worldwide. The original historic roots of the company are in the USA and despite wide international expansion since the 1970s, the US market continues to serve as a testing ground for innovations prior to international roll‐out. Based on observation and key informant interviews with core members of the management team during a visit to the Richmond project in 1994, the case explores the initial phase of the introduction of a central production facility as an innovative route to pre‐eminence in one test market. Strategic and operational issues are discussed, highlighting the differences and efficiency gains of the central production facility‐cum‐satellite store approach compared to the traditional stand‐alone on‐site production approach. Implications for future developments are discussed.

At the time of the imminent implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995, Part III, this paper aims to raise awareness both amongst retail and marketing academics and practitioners of the opportunities and potential marketing benefits inherent in the implementation of the Act.

A review of the UK disabled sector and the implications of DDA Stage III for retailers and service marketers is combined with an observational case study of shopping facilities for the mobility impaired shopper in a Manchester city centre and out‐of‐town location, complemented by interviews with Shopmobility representatives.

Findings provide an observational insight into the status quo of the implementation of the Act. Questions are raised concerning potential retailer responses on a continuum between mere compliance and enthusiastic commitment to the enhancement of servicescapes to the benefit of all. The role of different stakeholders and the potential contribution to location marketing are discussed.

Insights are based on systematically gathered observational data representing one person's experience at one point in time and in a specific location, validated via key informant interviews with two representatives of Shopmobility services. They can therefore be seen as exploratory only. Furthermore the focus is on mobility impairment, which is only one of a wide range of disabilities.

Implications for marketers include the need to move away from treating this market as separate from the mainstream and realize opportunities for enhancing servicescapes and retail offerings in ways which would benefit the wider population as well.

Through its qualitative case study approach the paper represents a rich snapshot of the retail offering in two Manchester locations on the eve of the implementation of DDA Part III, as seen from the point of view of a scooter based shopper.

Retail buying is an under‐researched activity which is of crucial importance to retailers. Conducts a survey of buyers in large UK retailers to investigate the range of activities in which buyers are involved and explore the interface between the buying function and other functional areas. Demonstrates the breadth and challenging nature of the buyer′s role and explores the qualities needed by individuals wishing to make a success of retail buying. Finally, suggests that buyers carry the main responsibility for implementing a company′s marketing activities and suggests areas for further research.

THIS YEAR — that seemed like a New Year (as indeed it was) not so long ago is already a third gone. We can wonder at its speed of passing, and wonder, too, what it will have in store for us for the rest of the time before us.

Since the reforms in China after 1979, great changes have taken place in the retailing sector, although from the Western point of view it still remains underdeveloped. There is little literature devoted to retailing in China, and an introduction is given here to the retailing sector and the retailing reforms that have occurred during the last decade. The study also provides evidence of some trends which probably will arouse researchers and foreign investors to explore this untapped area.

It has been at least twenty years since I was first alerted to the notion that my interest in a research topic arises from my unconscious. More recently, feminist theorists have developed the insight by arguing that integration of experience is helpful in defining research questions, as a source of data, to test findings and, in the words of Jean Bethke Elshtain, in assisting them to be less removed from the ‘wellsprings’ of their own ‘thought and action’. My aim in this article is to reconnect my experience with constructions of teachers in Australian children’s literature and to explore ways in which they are imagined in the literature. In my initial foray into this topic, I used Maurice Saxby’s historical review of Australian children’s literature as a guide for data gathering. This linear, chronological approach, while probably a helpful place to start, is not one I can sustain with any passion. In this article, I am returning to my experience to find a starting point, acknowledging that history is a ‘process of intellectual production as well as discovery’

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings from research that explored the influence of contextual factors on the adoption and development of Electronic Theses and Dissertation (ETD) programmes in the Arab Gulf States.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of five groups of stakeholders with an interest in the implementation of ETD programmes. The groups were postgraduate students, academic staff, library managers, system administrators, and postgraduate officers from five Gulf States universities. In addition, an online survey was conducted with 309 participants in order to test and explore, in a larger sample, the issues identified in the interviews.

Research participants identified three levels of factors; contextual, institutional, and personal. In addition, they highlighted that contextual factors have an influence on institutional factors. These contextual factors include misunderstanding of plagiarism, strong economy, recencey of research programmes, and younger societies. For example, due to the recencey of postgraduate programmes in the Arab Gulf States, some of the theses and dissertations are low in quality and quantity. The Arab Gulf States have strong economies and this helped to provide the necessary technological infrastructure needed for adopting ETD programmes. Since the Gulf societies are quite young they are more likely to adopt new technologies. In addition, people at these states appear to have a weak understanding of plagiarism issues and thus they have more concerns about these issues.

This paper provides insights about the factors influencing the adoption and development of ETD programmes in the Arab Gulf States.