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The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact working in a therapeutic community (TC) has on staff practice and personal development.

Eight female members of staff who work in the TC participated in semi-structured interviews. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis was used.

The findings of this paper show three superordinate themes: confidence gained within TC; the staff impact of the intensity of TC; and staff value for specific TC principles.

Limitations include researcher bias as both authors work in the TC and/or in the service. Reasonable adjustments were made in order to account for this.

Implications for future research include understanding and supporting the needs of staff and further exploration of the impact of staff working within TCs for people diagnosable with emotionally unstable personality disorders.

The research was carried out at one of the longest running TCs for people with emotional instability in the country. It offers a unique opportunity to garner the views of staff members with up to 27 years of experience. Findings may be of value to practitioners, administrators, policy makers and researchers interested in therapeutic communities.

This exploratory research paper aims to contribute to the international marketing and brand development literature by demonstrating that significant cross‐national differences exist between Chinese and US university students regarding beliefs and perceptions of private label branding.

A total of 1,070 usable surveys were collected in the USA and 252 in China. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS data analysis software. The US student sample was collected from a comprehensive university located in the western USA. The Chinese sample was collected from a large university in Hefei. Hefei is the capital city of Anhui Province and a center for higher education.

The researchers compared US and Chinese university students in four areas: important attributes when purchasing food‐related products; beliefs about private label brands and price loyalty; perceptions about private label brands; and recognition of private label brands. US and Chinese respondents had statistically significant differences when addressing beliefs and perceptions concerning private label brands. Most notable is the difference concerning product pricing: US consumers indicate that price has a greater effect on the decision to purchase when compared with Chinese consumers. The data seem to indicate that Chinese consumers believe that private label food products may be of inferior quality compared to manufacture brands. Additionally, the data indicate indirectly that Chinese respondents either do not have an understanding of private label products, or that private label names are not recognized as such.

One limitation of this paper is that the data may indicate the non‐availability of private label products to Chinese consumers, rather than a perception that private label products are of lower quality. Additionally, this study documents perceptions regarding private label products, not why respondents perceive private label products in a certain way. A final limitation is that respondents are university students that, while they are excellent candidates, they probably do not currently hold the role of main food purchaser for their families. Future research would benefit from a broader demographic that includes non‐students as well as a larger number of private label categories. Comparing how marketers educated consumers regarding private label products in western markets, and how private label products are integrated into western markets could be used as a template for a successful rollout in Asian markets.

While this study was exploratory in nature, and narrow in scope, the possibilities of long‐term research in private label branding in emerging market economies is quite exciting. Will the Chinese adopt private label products, as US consumers have done? To this end, a proverb from Deng Xiaoping seems appropriate: “Black cat or white cat: If it can catch mice, it's a good cat.” Whether a private label brand or a manufacture brand, it is up to marketers to help the Chinese consumers see value in both types of brand offerings.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of EU citizens’ exposure to UK immigration practices currently operating on non-EU migrants in the wake of the Brexit referendum.

This paper draws on recent literature analysing the impact of immigration as a factor in voter decision making during the Brexit referendum. It challenges Hollifield’s (1992) concept of the “liberal paradox” through an analysis of private security firms’ roles in contributing towards the expansion of immigration control markets. The paper concludes with a review of migrant experiences within prisons, detention facilities and dispersed housing for asylum seekers.

The findings suggest that the abandonment of EU citizens’ freedom of movement into the UK will result in their exposure to a privatised immigration control regime that contributes to the commodification of immigrants at the expense of human welfare.

This paper provides a conceptual link between the role of immigration in the Brexit referendum and the implications of expanding the population of persons subject to immigration control to include EU immigrants. It draws on current debates about privatised social control markets to illuminate the social impact of valorising migrant bodies.

School social work, in various forms, is well established internationally and has a growing evidence base. Yet existing research focuses on professional perspectives rather than those of students. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring secondary school student perspectives of having social workers in schools (SWIS). It was undertaken in England as part of the SWIS trial, which tested whether secondary school-based social workers could improve child safety and well-being, identify issues more quickly and reduce the need for statutory services.

A mixed-methods approach comprised a survey (n = 1,998 students) and interviews (n = 27 students). Surveys included questions on awareness, understanding, interaction with and attitudes towards the school-based social workers. Interviews involved a Q-sort activity followed by semi-structured questions on general attitudes and experiences. The Q-sort characterised prominent perspectives and how many students subscribed to them.

Students were broadly positive about having a social worker in their school in the survey and interviews. Two prominent perspectives on SWIS were identified. The first (n = 17) was defined by students feeling positively overall and strongly agreeing that they trusted the social worker. The second (n = 4) was mixed in sentiment, defined by some anxiety about working with the social worker. In interviews, students relayed that social workers were easily accessible, offered emotional support and acted as a bridge between school and home.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to quantify student perspectives on having social workers at school and evidence attitudes and experiences about school-based social work as practiced during the SWIS trial.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a coaching and mentoring pilot program, using multimedia technology, at BT Wholesale.

Explains how the company tested “next generation” coaching and performance‐support tools during the three‐month pilot involving 80 consultants, project managers and support staff in the operations‐planning and central‐change team. Reveals the main findings from the pilot program.

Reveals that participants benefited in their personal effectiveness and ability to manage stressful situations. The pilot indicates that raising productivity by between 10 and 15 percent is feasible as a typical outcome. Results of the post‐pilot evaluation show that participants agreed program could support innovative thinking practices (76 percent), has the potential positively to affect leadership styles and behaviors (64 percent) and could underpin training programs and learning application in the workplace (70 percent).

Indicates that information technology can make it cost‐effective for a firm to spread the benefits of coaching and mentoring to a wider range of workers.

Shows that many participants believed that the coaching would add further value by underpinning other personal development, change and stress‐management initiatives.

The Imago group was developed in 2010 as a step-down group for members of the Winterbourne Therapeutic Community (TC) who had completed their treatment. This paper aims to review the usefulness of the group by reflecting on service user and staff feedback.

An opportunity sample of all current and ex-members of the Imago group (n=17) were approached and a mixed methods design was used to gain a wide collection of data. A self-report questionnaire was designed to access the opinions of members and staff about the Imago group. In total, 71 per cent of Imago members and 90 per cent of staff responded.

Results show that “staff being familiar”, “reconnecting with fellow ex-TC members” and alternating days were the top three most helpful aspects of the group, whereas “having at least 4 weeks away from the TC before attending the Imago Group”, “style of session” and “venue” were found to be the least helpful aspects.

Limitations of the study centre round data collection. There were comprehension problems with the instructions for completing the quantitative scale and a small sample size meant that interpretations were tentative.

The Imago group is deemed a valuable part of the service for many of the service users (and staff), helping to aid recovery and re-integration into life after therapy. Elements of the group which were rated as least helpful require more thinking about.

The purpose of this study is to modify the service quality scale (SERVQUAL) for measuring the performance of Islamic banks after modifying and validating it to fit the Islamic banking context. Furthermore, it provides insights for the limitations good service delivery has on maintaining favorable provider’s satisfaction in Islamic banks under conditions when category attitudes have been disrupted and made salient by major disruptive events.

Focus groups (managers of Islamic banks) were conducted to develop context-specific service quality measures. Exploratory factor analysis and CFA have been conducted to test the validity of scales developed and questionnaires were then sent to Islamic banking customers of major Islamic banks in Egypt for testing the relationships between the research variables and hypotheses developed.

The findings of this study are two-fold; identifying a service quality dimension not previously identified in extant service quality measures (SERVQUAL, CARTER), devotion to customers and alerts brand managers that harm to category attitudes caused by societal-level disruptive events can make it difficult to gain high satisfaction even with superior customer service. In this disruptive event context, although high service quality is associated with brand satisfaction, brand satisfaction seems unexpectedly dampened by category attitudes, perhaps, due to the general malaise felt toward the category following the disruptive events.

Islamic institutions are alerted to the heightened need for providing superior service, as even superior service may no longer assure high satisfaction. Extrapolating to an even bigger societal disruptor, in the soon-to-come post-COVID-19 world, category attitudes toward walk-in banking services will be in turmoil and highly salient. So, brand managers will need to develop creative ways to strengthen not just brand attitudes but also to re-stabilize category attitudes if the category is to recover.

This is considered a pioneer study in using mixed methods to re-think the famous SERVQUAL scale in a unique context and relating findings to impacts of disruptive events on attitude toward Islamic banking.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how business schools can better engage with business practice, building on literature that highlights their lack of impact and questions their business-model sustainability. Reporting exemplars of good practice in engagement (in both research and teaching), the paper offers six recommendations for Deans of business schools, government, and businesses.

The research was undertaken for a report commissioned by the Association of Business Schools for the Minister of State for Universities and Science. Methods included a review of published literature; surveys of practising managers, managers who had changed careers to work in business schools, managers who had taken MBA degrees, doctoral students, deans of business schools, and fellows of learned societies; and interviews with individuals close to government who were themselves preparing reports on shaping government policy for business development and economic growth. Examples of good practice were examined for both content and lessons on how they developed.

Six recommendations are proposed, on programme design; faculty skills and experience; developing partnerships and relationships; assessing impact; managing and organizing research; and differentiating business-school offerings for enhanced profile and distinctiveness. Two further crosscutting themes relate to the incentives that might be required for change to happen, and the capabilities needed for delivery.

Originality in the paper stems from its focus on the solutions to the problems identified, as opposed to the restatement of the problems themselves.

This paper aims to consider the role of the bank clerk in the Victorian era and to provide insights into clerical life in a London bank during the period.

The paper draws on the archival records of Hoare and Company. Founded in the seventeenth century, it is the oldest surviving independent bank in the UK.

Drawing on the company's archival records, the paper examines issues such as recruitment, house rules, acts of paternalism and the overwhelming concern with maintaining respectability. While Hoare's clerks humorously referred to themselves as the Association of the Sons of Toil, the records support the literature in revealing the relatively cosseted career of the bank clerk within Victorian clerical circles. He generally enjoyed a higher salary, longer holidays and more favourable working conditions than his clerical counterparts. It was therefore a highly sought after position. Only those of impeccable character however, were recruited into its ranks.

The paper suggests the potential significance of Victorian values to the recruitment and general working conditions of contemporary members of the financial community.

The paper's value lies in supplementing the existing literature with further insights into the life of the Victorian bank clerk.

The purpose of this paper is to trace debates between state and federal governments, and community stakeholders, leading to the establishment and abolition of the first attempt at a university for Western Sydney, established as Chifley University Interim Council.

The historical analysis draws from published papers, oral history accounts, and original documents in archives of the University of Sydney and the University of Western Sydney.

Higher education reform in the 1980s in Australia was fought out as an extension of broader issues such as “States rights”, the rising political power of peri‐urban regions, long‐standing tensions between state and Commonwealth bureaucracies, and the vested interests of existing tertiary education and community groups.

This is the only existing study of attempts to found Chifley University, and one of the few available studies which take a social and contextual approach to understanding the critical reforms of the 1980s leading up to the Dawkins Reforms of 1988‐1990.