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In the UK, major IT public procurement projects regularly fail at significant cost to the taxpayer. The prevalence of these failures presents scholars with a challenge; to both understand their genesis and to facilitate learning and prevention. Functional approaches have revealed numerous determinants of failure ranging from procurement specifications to risk escalation, but true and definitive causes remain elusive. However, since failure is not itself an absolute truth, but rather a concept which is reached when support is withdrawn, the survival of a project depends on there being sufficient belief in its legitimacy. We use critical hermeneutic methods and the conceptual lens of legitimacy to reveal powerful legitimating influences that enable and constrain action, but which are not analysed in the retrospective government inquiries that determine lessons learned.

This article describes how Stack Computer Solutions, a UK mail‐order company that faced a battle for survival ten years ago, has turned its low‐skills workforce into a team of expert professionals, and has increased turnover by almost 600 percent.

Draws on information provided by the company's managing director.

Details how, before 1995, Stack manufactured hardware to enable computer accessories such as printers and plotters to communicate. The company helped customers to choose products, sold them by mail order and provided telephone support. But when PCs using standard connections began to dominate, the company had to change from interconnecting accessories to interconnecting servers and operating systems. Describes the award‐winning training that enabled the company to make this transformation.

Recounts the upbeat story of a small organization that won a battle for survival and now looks optimistically to the future.

Highlights the value of investing in training.

Followership has been recognized as an essential component of leadership studies as evidenced by growth of research within this area. To keep pace with the growth of this research, it is time to bring followership into the leadership classroom. This paper proposes a case-based exercise with two main learning objectives: (1) to help students broaden their perceptions about followership, and (2) to promote followership behaviors that actively contribute to organizations. This exercise includes large group discussion, peer coaching, and individual work to facilitate these endeavors. The paper concludes with suggested methods for assessment that include both self- and peer- ratings, as well as open-ended reflection.

DONCASTER'S new Central Library was formally opened on 29th December 1969 on precisely the 100th anniversary of the opening of the first public library in Doncaster. Conforming to tradition, the Library was opened by the Mayor of Doncaster, Councillor Marcus Outwin. The President of the Library Association, Mr. Wilfred Ashworth, addressed the assembled guests, his last official appointment before relinquishing the office.

This study responds to identified challenges of poor work-readiness of many graduates and the inadequate relation between education and work. Through students' perspectives, the study examines the extent to which selected South African universities are supporting their students in developing employability skills and the influence of such employability support on students' enhanced employability.

Through purposive sampling, information was obtained from a sample of 402 final year students at two universities in South Africa. After an exploratory factor analysis, 34 of the 35 items on the questionnaire successfully loaded for further analysis under seven components.

South African universities that were analysed are adequately engaging their students with two of the six employability development opportunities (EDOs), while students' engagement with the other four is only to a fair extent. EDOs are found to jointly influence students' employability. The curriculum has the highest influence, followed by personal development planning, career development learning and work experience. Real-world activities and extracurricular activities were not found to influence students' self-perceived employability.

Beyond identifying skills that graduates are expected to possess, which dominate the discussion and debate on graduate employability, this study elucidates the role of universities in providing support structures – EDOs – that enable students to establish an appropriate connection between theory and practice. It provides insight into the employability potential of South African universities and increases the universities' awareness of what they can do to ensure the production of work-ready graduates.

This commentary aims to reveal how a steering committee has effectively responded to advancing accessibility to harm reduction resources, hepatitis C virus (HCV) policy and health strategies within adult prison settings in New South Wales (NSW).

By reviewing the audit approach taken by the of the Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network and Corrective Services New South Wales Harm Reduction Reference Group (JHFMHN/CSNSW HRRG), this commentary emphasizes the committee’s success in identifying contemporary harm reduction issues that affect people in custodial settings. This commentary is a compilation of data gathered through the 2018 JHFMHN/CSNSW HRRG audit and corresponding program materials. Conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the working group’s audit were drawn by critically appraising the JHFMHN/CSNSW HRRG’s Final Audit Report (JHFMHN and CSNSW, 2018) with reference to current harm reduction literature.

The HRRG has provided leadership, professional representation and strategic advice on the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of best practice harm reduction strategies in prison settings. The HRRG developed and maintained networks and information exchange between the state-wide HCV health network, corrections services and the NSW harm reduction sector at large. Public health partnerships and advocacy that involve all key players, such as the HRRG, will continue to be crucial to remove barriers to enhancing HCV harm reduction measures especially in NSW prison settings.

Strategies such as primary prevention and treatment can mitigate the spread of HCV in the custodial system. This audit of access to harm reduction resources was conducted on behalf of the diverse group of professionals, scholars and stakeholders comprising the HRRG. This audit and other advocacy efforts of this committee can facilitate future access to quality healthcare and the necessary policies required to support a healthier prison population at large.

Collaborating with health authorities, researchers and social service workers can enable prison health-care systems to be guided by wider health workforce programs and public health standards. This collaboration can reduce the professional isolation of custodial health-care staff and promote a balanced approach to harm reduction policies by ensuring an equitable focus on both health and security imperatives.

Agriculture and associated services are central to the rural economy of the United Kingdom. Rural veterinary enterprises are important providers of services to livestock producers, but are now facing concerns over their future economic viability. The objectives of this chapter are to outline the changes occurring in the veterinary and agricultural sectors, and to explore the main issues affecting veterinary enterprises in a changing business environment.

This is a conceptual chapter contextualised mainly within the United Kingdom. As such, the methodological approach comprises a critical review of current academic literatures, as well as government reports and relevant media articles.

The findings demonstrate that the commercial success of rural veterinary enterprises is critical to ensuring the future provision of high-quality animal health services to both farmers and government. The current issues facing farmers are likely to affect their willingness and resources to invest in veterinary services. Furthermore, farmers may have doubts as to vets’ ability to provide business-focussed services that add value. In addition, many public services are outsourced to private veterinary enterprises, and forthcoming policy changes are expected to lead to reduced income from public sources for both vets and their livestock farming clients. While wider issues affecting agriculture are beyond the control of private veterinary practitioners, veterinary enterprises will need to ensure that they can deal with such challenges and, where required, adapt their services accordingly.

The chapter is based on a review of extant literatures, and the scope of the research is therefore limited to existing knowledge about the farm animal veterinary business landscape.

The chapter summarises current knowledge of the challenges facing rural veterinary enterprises. While some of the issues described are specific to the veterinary sector, many are also relevant to other rural SMEs providing knowledge-intensive services to farmers. The chapter also describes areas requiring further empirical research.

WHEN A biography of Dante Gabriel Rossetti was returned to Kendal library by post from Oxford University with a stamp on the date label of 5 Feb 1916 no one considered this to be very startling news. There was a compliment slip inside apologising for the delay (‘It was lurking in one of our darker corners’). I sent them a brief note thanking them, and that I thought was that.

The classics will circulate wrote a public librarian several years ago. She found that new, attractive, prominently displayed editions of literary classics would indeed find a substantial audience among public library patrons.