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Describes approaches to potential cost savings that can be gained by contracting in or out through an external service agency. Examines the distinction between contracting in and the more permanent contracting out, in the light of some of the advantages of contracting. Concludes that with careful analysis it should be possible to select a range of services that can be handed to service agencies, leaving the organization to concentrate on its core functions.

Considers the phenomenon of contracting out non‐essential services as a process of “disintegration”, in contrast to the fashion for integration and growth in the 1960s. Argues that the identification of core functions is problematic, undermining the concept of disintegration. Concludes that current cost reduction techniques is symptomatic of a brutal attitude to those functions which fail the purchase enquiry test.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between general market demands and consumption levels of professional sport consumers. This study was accomplished through: (a) validating the theoretical constructs of general market demand variables by conducting a confirmatory factor analysis, (b) examining the predictability of general market demand factors to consumption levels of live and televised sporting events, and (c) investigating the relationships between sociodemographic and general market demand factors. Five hundred and twenty-five residents of a major southern US city were interviewed using a questionnaire that included eight sociodemographic variables, 12 market demand variables under three factors (Game Attractiveness, Economic Consideration, and Marketing Promotion), and 10 professional sporting event consumption variables. The factor structure of the general market demand variables was confirmed. Regression analyses revealed that market demand factors were positively (p < .05) predictive of professional sport consumption. Sociodemographic variables were significantly (p < .05) related to the market demand factors. The findings imply that professional sport teams should highlight the market demand variables and adopt differential marketing procedures for various sociodemographic segments in their marketing practice.

This article presents the findings of a study of the victimisation of three cohorts of young people living in a county town in the East Midlands. Following a brief review of research into contemporary youth victimisation in the UK, it reports the findings of the study and discusses the reasons for variations in rates of victimisation between the three cohorts. It concludes with a discussion of the implications for professionals.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze crucial facilities management (FM) service dimensions that affect customer satisfaction with regards to the shopping mall sector, and provide useful implications for FM companies.

The study is based on a five‐year longitudinal customer satisfaction survey conducted in five selected shopping malls in Hong Kong. The authors first use stepwise multiple regression method to estimate the relationship between overall customer satisfaction level and nine specific dimensions of FM service for each year, and then compare regression results of five years to identify crucial dimensions.

The research reveals that: management and maintenance of communal facilities is the most crucial dimension with regard to the overall customer satisfaction; the condition of a washroom is another important dimension for customer satisfaction; communication efficiency and efficacious promotion events are also important for maintaining customer satisfaction.

This paper presents a longitudinal quantitative survey regarding shopping mall FM service satisfaction and identifies several critical dimensions affecting customer satisfaction, which deliver useful information for FM managers who intend to fulfil customer expectations.

Lived experience has increasingly been incorporated into service delivery across health and social care settings. One of the methods used to do this is through the provision of peer support work. While many people will have lived experience of an issue, condition and may even work in services, peers are markedly different insofar as they are employed specifically because they are using this lived experience to explicitly inform their way of providing an intervention. As we will see throughout this book, peers are not a homogenous group; however, they do use some of the same processes to engage and offer support to people with a variety of health and social vulnerabilities. This chapter contextualises these issues before delving into further chapters authored and co-authored by those with lived experience across multiple areas of peer support work.

The purpose of this umbrella review is to synthesise existing evidence on the effectiveness and implementation of peer support in substance use settings, providing insights into its benefits, challenges and implications for practice and research.

The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses were used to guide an umbrella review. Three databases were searched: Academic Search Complete, Scopus and the Web of Science, supplemented with bibliography searches. Articles were included if they were peer reviewed in the English language from inception to 2024 and reported on peer support in substance use contexts. The Joanne Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses was used to assess the quality of the included reviews. Findings are reported using a narrative synthesis.

The search yielded 4,062 articles, of which 8 systematic reviews were included, encompassing 177 (N = 177) primary studies with a combined sample size of 38,659 (N = 38,659) participants. Peer support in substance use settings was linked to improved outcomes, including reduced substance use severity, enhanced treatment engagement and better social supports. Challenges identified included inconsistent training, role definitions and organisational barriers, such as stigmatising attitudes and limited structural support. Most reviews used a narrative synthesis to report results, with no meta-analyses. Critical appraisal categorised the reviews as 25% high quality, 25% moderate quality, 25% low quality and 25% critically low quality. The findings further highlighted the need for clearer implementation strategies, standardised training and recovery-oriented care models to optimise peer support effectiveness. In addition, the role of the randomised control trial as a method for evaluating peer support is considered.

This umbrella review uniquely synthesises evidence from diverse systematic reviews on peer support in substance use settings, highlighting the multidimensional benefits and challenges while addressing critical gaps in implementation strategies and methodological approaches. It offers a novel perspective on optimising peer roles within recovery-oriented care models.

Peer support work is increasingly becoming part of the delivery of health and social care services. However, in an Irish context, there is a paucity of research in this area. This study aims to investigate the experiences of peers and other key stakeholders across four sectors in Ireland.

Qualitative interviews (N = 35) were conducted with key respondents in mental health, substance use, migrant health and homelessness sectors. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and reported using an ecological framework.

Peer work is a slowly emerging area of practice, although mental health is further ahead in this journey. Findings suggest that peers are important additions to service delivery but also have various support and development needs. Organisations can encourage and support peers into employment through enacting human resource policy and practices, effective supervision, management and maintaining a positive working culture. Helping other professionals to understand the peer role and how it can function within the wider team is highlighted. National policy and governance structures can also support the emergence of the peer role, which exists in a highly complex arena.

Peers can play a meaningful role in supporting service users in four sectors of health and social care in Ireland. Structures and processes to help embed these roles into systems are encouraged across micro, meso and macro levels. Implications and limitations are discussed for moving forward with peer work.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to include these four areas of practice simultaneously.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the main changes that took place in the British pub from 1959 to 1989. The introduction of new products, more modern facilities and a more varied clientele are mentioned, together with the key factors driving these changes.

There has been a heavy use of secondary sources drawn from the whole of the period studied. This has been augmented by discussions with licensees, retired licensees and older pub customers, to collect their reflections on the industry.

The brewers introduced new products to increase profits, and they invested in the refurbishment of their estates to attract and retain customers, but government legislation was also vital for encouraging the off‐trade. The period saw a large rise in female customers and the weakening of the traditional male working class use of the pub. The emergence of a few brewers is also recoded.

The work report the changes in the industry, and examines some of the causes. Further work could examine the causes more carefully, and could include regional studies for comparison purposes.

There have been other attempts to examine changes in the public house. This is the most detailed, and as such could be of interest to the general reader as well as practitioners and students of the hospitality industry.