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The most important theoretical framework that has been added to quality management in the past ten years comes to life in this important discussion of behavioral management. A large percentage of most processes consist of human behavior at least at the design level of the process. This paper will focus on behavioral management as the foundation for understanding the entire work process. The evolution of human behavior lies at the heart of this very specific and practical methodology. This methodology ensures ongoing customer satisfaction through performance measurement, building trusting relationships, the ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of those relationships, and internal and external reinforcement systems that sustain the relationships for mutual long‐term profitability. Managers that do not have these behaviorally and scientifically oriented performance management skills in their “toolbox” cannot optimize the entire process.

The treatment of severe and chronic substance dependence is challenged by high rates of treatment attrition, highlighting the need to identify factors that hinder treatment retention. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The present study examined certain neurocognitive and personality traits in relation to treatment retention in a sample of 46 residents of an Australian therapeutic community (TC). The traits examined were previously found to be associated with problematic substance use in non-clinical samples and were also previously shown to differentiate TC clients from social drinkers. The hypothesis was thus that traits that appear to be risk factors for addictions are also likely to impact on TC treatment retention.

Group comparisons of those retained for more than the recommended 90 days vs those who left treatment prematurely showed that after controlling for the influence of depression, those who left treatment prematurely reported significantly higher levels of trait impulsivity, punishment sensitivity and executive cognitive dysfunction. There was a very high rate of alexithymia in the sample (52 per cent), but alexithymia was unrelated to retention.

The final sample size was less than planned but reflected the strict participation criteria and temporal limitations of this study. No statistical assumptions were violated and the reliability indices of the scales completed by clients ranged from acceptable to excellent. Another limitation was that dropout cannot be assumed to mean relapse, as the reasons for client dropout were not available.

Findings highlight the important roles of trait factors in TC treatment retention in addition to the motivational and interpersonal factors identified in previous work.

Blues music is in the midst of its second revival in popularity in roughly thirty years. The year 1960 can be identified, with some qualification, as a reference point for the first rise in international awareness and appreciation of the blues. This first period of wide‐spread white interest in the blues continued until the early seventies, while the current revival began in the middle 1980s. During both periods a sizeable literature on the blues has appeared. This article provides a thumbnail sketch of the popularity of the blues, followed by a description of scholarly and critical literature devoted to the music. Documentary and instructional materials in audio and video formats are also discussed. Recommendations are made for library collections and a list of selected sources is included at the end of the article.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the phenomenon of mentoring in higher education between Black and White male faculty and Black students at a highly selective, predominantly White institution (PWI) of higher education in the USA. The study aims to elucidate the cross‐racial aspects of mentorship and the impact of gender on mentoring relationships.

The paper consists of a phenomenological study utilising theories of cross‐racial and cross‐gender mentoring, and included eight participants, twice interviewed in depth about their formative experiences and mentoring practices regarding Black students. The data were analysed using a cross‐sectional code‐and‐retrieve method.

The paper provides insights about how Black men leveraged experiences parallel to those confronted by their Black protégés, while White men accessed proximal experiences of difference to relate to Black mentees – and additionally utilized interpersonal networks to enhance their mentorship by relying on colleagues of color who had greater familiarity with challenges faced by students.

Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability to populations; however, the theoretical contributions of the study are significant, suggesting that researchers explore cross‐race and cross‐gender mentoring arrangements in future research.

The paper includes implications for regarding the role and position of White males in academic settings as mentors across race and gender, and for the role of age for men serving in the role of mentors.

The paper contributes to the literature on cross‐racial mentoring in higher education, and further explores the impact of gender on mentoring, within the context of a highly competitive academic setting.

The behavioural management of bank tellers delivering service to customers is examined. The degree of quality service is defined by six dimensions: greeting, eye contact, speed of service, help offered, personal recognition, and appreciation. Techniques consisted of providing PIGS feedback (positive, immediate, graphic and specific) on each of the six dimensions, and contingent social reinforcers given by the supervisor to the teller observed to be doing a good job. This intervention had a generally positive impact on the delivery of quality service by tellers to bank customers.

This paper examines the relationship between indigenous cultures and employee efficiency and how cronyism strengthens or weakens the relationship in the Ghanaian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in response to the employee efficiency.

This study employs a quantitative approach by a cross-sectional survey to collect data from 400 workers in ten SOEs in Ghana. The analysis is done by using descriptive statistics and hierarchical regression techniques.

The findings indicate that showing gratitude is the predominant indigenous culture in the SOEs of Ghana while irregularity (absenteeism) is not dominant. Moreover, the practice of cronyism is high. It reveals that the indigenous cultures, except for respect for the elderly, relate negatively to employee efficiency, and cronyism strengthens the relationship between indigenous cultures and employee efficiency.

The paper contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence that cronyism effectively strengthens the relationship between indigenous cultures and employee efficiency in a developing country. Strategies to discourage cronyism should be the key focus of public administrators, as well as mechanisms to limit the practice of adverse indigenous cultures.

Place branding research has recently focused on developing more inclusive models to better capture the co-creation of place identities. This paper aims to investigate stakeholder communication interactions in place branding processes to inform alternative, participatory, network governance models of stakeholder engagement.

The literature on stakeholder engagement in place branding processes is sparse. Through a regional case study of the Australian island state of Tasmania, the paper combines participatory action research (PAR) with the method of sociological intervention (SI) to investigate how participants individually and collectively reflect on their practices and patterns of engagement.

By combining PAR with SI, participants were enabled to gain a greater appreciation of how cooperation and collective self-reflection enhance effective place branding practices. Furthermore, by facilitating participants to compile a list of impediments to collaboration, the research informs efforts to develop more inclusive governance models for place branding. Finally, the PAR/SI method itself served as a practical tool to encourage enhanced stakeholder engagement in applied settings.

The approach is based on a single case study in a particular regional context and the findings require replication in other jurisdictions.

PAR/SI is a practical tool to achieve greater stakeholder engagement and enhance collaborative social action through a process of collective, critical reflection in applied settings.

The paper advances understanding of ways to operationalize participatory place branding through more inclusive, multistakeholder governance arrangements.

HAS BRITAIN really lost its sense of purpose? Has it no noticeable industrial policy?

This paper aims to examine participatory sport event organizers’ perspectives on potential connections between their events and tourism and destination marketing outcomes.

This qualitative study entailed in-depth interviews with participatory sport event organizers in the United Kingdom, coupled with thematic analysis of event websites and social media. The paper uses Chalip’s (2004) model for host community event leveraging to interpret findings.

Event organizers focused on attracting participants and delivering positive experiences, rather than on stimulating tourism-related outcomes. However, organizers used a range of strategies to attract participants, such as emphasizing attractive and unique location features, which could also serve to entice active sport tourists and promote the event host destination.

Participatory sport event organizers may not prioritize or even sufficiently understand the potential for their events to generate tourism outcomes. For organizers confronted with operating constraints and event delivery challenges, it may be difficult to find the time, and practical ways, to satisfy the needs of tourism stakeholders.

The unique contribution of this paper is its focus on supply-side perspectives on the role of participatory sport events as tourism catalysts, and its examination of the potential for such small-scale events to contribute to sustainable tourism development. This paper also considers the nature of event organizers’ role in implementation of Chalip’s (2004) model for host community event leveraging.

This study proposes the theory of higher education learning (THEL). The theory argues that certain concepts are difficult to understand, so learners and instructors should consider common factors that will enhance learners’ understanding of key concepts that are difficult to comprehend across various fields of study. The components of this theory have been tested in three different fields (public administration, entrepreneurship and chemistry) in separate studies in Ghana, Nigeria and Burundi within a five-year span to validate their applicability to higher education learning.

The design covers empirical, philosophical and theoretical discussions and comparative studies of other researchers and the authors’ work and thinking.

This theory proposes five variables (gender, age, opportunity, instructor knowledge and instructor confidence) that address students’ difficulty in understanding concepts in higher education learning. These factors are premised on six assumptions: (1) gender orientation must be either male or female; (2) age must be consistent with the parameter set; (3) there must be learners’ desire to study the same subject after school; (4) there must be an institution offering further studies on the same subject; (5) the instructor might have understood the subject in his/her official training, experience or practice and (6) the instructor must demonstrate certainty, accuracy, verifiability and reliability in the transfer of knowledge to the learners. Given these assumptions, the uniqueness of this theory lies in its application of the five variables to solve challenges uniquely related to studies in higher education.

This theory will incite debate and provide further insights into higher education learning models. The novelty lies in the five prepositions proven to enhance effective teaching and learning in higher education. Specifically, it introduces an extension to Piaget’s cognitive constructivist theory by proposing higher age brackets for students at the university level, opportunity (for future studies) to close the gap in Ausubul’s theory of advance organizers and endogenous factors to bridge the gap in Okebukola’s culturo-techno-contextual approach.