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Although it is recommended that reflective practice groups (RPGs) are used to support staff in inpatient intellectual disability (ID) services, there is to date no research on their effectiveness or how staff perceive RPGs in these settings. This paper aims to evaluate staff perceptions of the RPGs in an assessment and treatment unit for people with ID and to ascertain the nature of any barriers for staff in attending the group.

Thirteen staff completed questionnaires ascertaining their views on the purpose, process and impact of the RPG run within the service. Questionnaires included a version of the clinical supervision evaluation questionnaire (CSEQ; Horton et al., 2008) adapted for this context and a questionnaire designed by the authors examining barriers to attending the group.

Staff responses indicated that they valued the group and perceived it as improving their clinical practice and their self-awareness. Staff did not always perceive group sessions as having clear aims and did not perceive the group as enhancing their well-being or their awareness of gaps in their skills. RPGs may be most effective if they form part of a service-wide approach to staff support and development.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first evaluation of RPGs in inpatient ID services. The adapted CSEQ was found to be an easily implemented method of evaluating RPGs in an inpatient ID setting.

Strategic flexibility (SF) has become increasingly important for firms because of the fast changes in the external environment. In line with the practical importance of SF, an emerging research field has developed around it that has attempted to understand the nature of SF and the key relationships. The aim of this study is to unveil the semantic structure of the recent literature on SF and to suggest new promising areas for future research.

The authors conduct a systematic literature review with a bibliographic analysis technique, which allows authors to identify the main recent streams in the literature, as well as offer reflections and suggestions for future research.

The authors uncover three main emerging areas in the research on SF, namely SF as a dynamic capability, the role of knowledge management for SF and the relationship between a firm SF and the external environment. The authors put forward three avenues for future research on SF: Avenue 1. SF, business model innovation (BMI) and other dynamic capabilities (DC), Avenue 2. Digital technologies and SF/organizational agility and Avenue 3. SF and sustainability. Articles included in the special issue entitled “A strategic perspective on flexibility, agility and adaptability in the digital era” contribute to Avenue 2, thus paving the way for filling some of the identified gaps regarding the relationship between SF and digitalization.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first literature review on SF that uses a bibliometric approach to draw conclusions on the findings in the literature. The review contributes to the theoretical understanding of SF by illustrating and explicating core topics that have persisted over time, as well as by presenting three main avenues for further developing authors’ knowledge around SF.

The informal sector contributes significantly to the growth of the Nigerian economy, accounting for over 40 percent of the annual growth of the gross domestic product and employing a majority of the nation's workforce. Indigenous manufacturing in the informal sector, which affects all spheres of the economy, can be deployed to promote sustainable development in Nigeria. Nigerian informal manufacturing is largely based on the use of indigenous technology, and as a result, this provides an opportunity for such players in the sector to consider the role their operations could play in promoting sustainable development in the country. This, they can realize by keying into the principles of sustainability and moderating the impact of their operations on the environment, society, and the economy at large. Nigeria, among other African countries, has persistently suffered the adverse effects of pollution and abuse of the environment in terms of flooding, deforestation, and desertification, among others. Those employing indigenous technology in manufacturing in the informal sector should therefore be encouraged to take the lead in Africa in order to promote and guarantee environmental sustainability, biodiversity and sustainable development in general by imbibing the culture of waste recycling, waste reduction, waste conversion, using green energy and the application of environmental and related resources with moderation, taking into consideration the interests of the future generation. In general, efforts should be made towards modernizing the application of indigenous technology in informal manufacturing in order to enhance sustainability in the country.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on pedagogy as a crucial element in postgraduate research undertakings, implying active involvement of both student and supervisor in process of teaching and learning.

Drawing on Australian higher degree research supervision practice to illustrate their argument, the authors take issue with reliance on traditional Oxbridge conventions as informing dominant practices of supervision of postgraduate research studies and suggest pedagogy as intentional and systematic intervention that acknowledges the problematic natures of relationships between teaching, learning, and knowledge production as integral to supervision and research studies.

The authors examine issues of discursive practice and the problematic nature of power differentials in supervisor‐supervisee relationships, and the taken‐for‐grantedness of discursive practice of such relationships. The authors do this from the perspective of the student involved in higher degree research programs, a departure from the bulk of the literature that has as its focus the perspective of the supervisor and/or the institution.

The paper examines the perspective of the student involved in higher degree research programs, a departure from the bulk of the literature that has as its focus the perspective of the supervisor and/or the institution.

This paper aims to disseminate an innovative approach to sustainability education in construction‐related fields in which teaching, research, and service are integrated to provide a unique learning experience for undergraduate students, faculty members, and community partners.

The paper identifies the need for sustainability education in fields related to construction and describes an interdisciplinary course at Penn State that addresses this need. The goals, research, and applications of the course are detailed, as is the sustainable construction technology employed in course projects. Finally, the results from two course assessments are summarized to support the authors' hypothesis that knowledge best occurs and develops in an arena of negotiation, collaboration, and creation.

Students who participate in the course experience well‐rounded growth that includes, but is not limited to, increased research, design, communication, and collaboration skills, a finding that underscores the effectiveness of the course's holistic approach to engineering and architecture education.

The paper demonstrates that engaged approaches to architecture and engineering education contribute to a heightened awareness among students of the importance of sustainability. It encourages other educators to adopt similar approaches to sustainability education in their courses.

The paper addresses the need for sustainability education in construction‐related disciplines by detailing an innovative course developed at Penn State to raise environmental and social awareness among architecture and engineering students. The engaged approach utilized in the course is replicable in any discipline and promises to have a significant impact on the commitment of today's students to creating a tomorrow in which sustainability is the norm rather than an anomaly.

In this phenomenological study, the experiences of seven Black women faculty at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) who are working toward tenure and promotion are presented. The use of phenomenology, specifically in-depth interviews, gives voice to the women as they share the essence of their experiences including their perceived supports and barriers. Understanding their experiences adds to the literature on women of color in education and has the implications for schooling and community, and support structures essential to the success of Black women and all women of color in academe.

Multinational resource companies (MRCs) are under pressure to become responsible corporate citizens. In particular, stakeholders are demanding more information about the deals these companies negotiate with the host governments of resource-rich nations, and there is general agreement about the need for industry commitment to transparency and the benefits that a mandatory disclosure regime would bring. This paper examines the production of one attempt to regulate disclosures related to payments between MRCs and the governments of nations with resource wealth: Section 1504 of the Dodd–Frank Act.

Drawing on Boltanski and Thévenot's (2006) Sociology of Worth, the authors examine the comment letters of participants in this process with a view to revealing how stakeholder groups produce justifications to promote their positions vis-à-vis transparency to regulators.

The authors show how justifications were mobilised by various constituents in an effort to shape the definition of transparency and the regulatory architecture that governs disclosure practices. In this case, the collective recognition of desirability of transparency enabled the SEC to suture together the views of constituents to create a shared understanding of the role of the common good as it relates to transparency.

This paper explores an alternative approach to the consideration of comment letters advanced during the process of disclosure-related rule-making. The authors show how a sophisticated regulator may be able to draw together elements stemming from different constituents in a way that appeals to a shared sense of the “common good” in order to produce Final Rules.

This paper seeks to shed light on how core values are successfully transmitted in family businesses via narratives.

A qualitative‐interpretive approach is used. Data were collected through in‐depth interviews made to 17 family members from three family businesses of different ages, sizes, industries, and generations in control. The richness of these interviews, besides its depth and length, emerges from the complete picture formed by the comparison of the stories told by different generations.

Results suggest that narratives are a powerful device for transmitting values through generations. By telling stories, family businesses are able to build identity and shared meanings which led to successful performance in terms of revenues, reputation, shared identity, and continuity of the family business history.

This paper is exploratory. Further studies focusing on failure in transmitting values could enhance and expand emerging results. Deepening on values transmission may be a key research opportunity for general conceptualization.

The paper raises interesting issues for the family business literature within the context of values, an important yet understudied topic in the field. It also contributes to narrative theory by highlighting the usefulness of narratives as a vehicle for values transmission.

The purpose of this paper is to profile the WHATT theme issue “Is talent management a strategic priority in the hospitality sector?” with reference to the experiences of the theme editor and writing team.

This paper uses structured questions to enable the theme editor to reflect on the rationale for the theme issue question, the starting point, the selection of the writing team and material and the editorial process.

It identifies five re-occurring themes as being particularly relevant to hospitality organizations when considering a strategic approach to talent management. They are the role of line managers in employee development and well-being; talent management being used as a lever for culture change; the importance of contextualizing approaches to talent management; the need for new and innovative ways of working to achieve a strategic approach to talent management; and barriers to development of a strategic approach caused by economic and day-to-day operational pressures.

The theme issue outcomes provide lines of enquiry for others to explore and reinforce the value of WHATT’s approach to collaborative working and writing.

The collaborative work reported in this theme issue offers fresh insights on the current practice and future priorities for talent management in an industry that struggles to attract and retain employees.