Search results

Examines modern roof coverings and their associated problems over the past decade. Discusses the designers’ and suppliers’ dependence on and compliance with British Standards. Provides details of the problems and their technical solutions.

The paper takes up the challenge offered in the call for papers for this special issue to explore the notion of public relations as “ethical guardian”. The approach taken is to review some influential academic perspectives as well as practitioner perspectives that emerged throughout the 20th century. It is argued that the ethics and social responsibility have long been an intrinsic part of public relations self‐identity. The paper identifies a number of problems for the public relations occupation that arise from its historical legacy and considers the implications for professional status.

This paper reviews the history of public relations (PR) education in the UK in the context of the process of professionalisation. Drawing on the sociology of the professions, it describes the criteria for an occupation to be accorded professional status and the role of education in that process. The relationship between academia and practice is given some consideration and some of the challenges facing practitioners and academics in relation to legitimacy and status are identified. Finally, the paper suggests some new issues for research in the field and argues for an ethnographic turn in PR.

Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and shows that these are in many, differing, areas across management research from: retail finance; precarious jobs and decisions; methodological lessons from feminism; call centre experience and disability discrimination. These and all points east and west are covered and laid out in a simple, abstract style, including, where applicable, references, endnotes and bibliography in an easy‐to‐follow manner. Summarizes each paper and also gives conclusions where needed, in a comfortable modern format.

[In view of the approaching Conference of the Library Association at Perth, the following note on the Leighton Library may not be inopportune. Dunblane is within an hour's railway journey from Perth and has a magnificent cathedral, founded in the twelfth century, which is well worthy of a visit.]

This paper examines the current framework in the UK for the prevention and detection of corporate fraud, in the light of recent figures which demonstrate that losses from reported fraud far exceed losses from other kinds of theft. The responsibilities of external auditors and corporate management for preventing and detecting fraud are explored, as is law enforcement in regard to fraud. The paper concludes that the overall framework is weak and that given the escalation of fraud levels, the Government ought to conduct a full review of the roles of auditor and management and the state of law enforcement in this area.

Sport is acknowledged for fostering positive competencies, behaviours and attitudes contributing to individuals' social and physical well-being and development. However, recent research suggests that athletes may face adverse effects on their health, safety and well-being due to violence against them. Numerous studies highlight that athletes across various sports endure physical, sexual and emotional violence. Given the pervasive nature and severity of such violence, understanding athletes' widespread tolerance for these experiences is crucial. This chapter employs figurational sociology to analyse violence against athletes, specifically exploring how violence and abuse in sport tends to become normalised. By placing a strong emphasis on the interdependence of individuals and their actions within social networks, figurational sociology highlights how abuse in sport is influenced by the relationships and interactions between athletes, coaches and other actors, such as medical staff, peers and parents. Moreover, through the analysis of dynamic power relations across various actors and the role of habitus, this sociological perspective offers valuable insights into the dynamics of abuse in sport.

Participation in extreme sports, sometimes called adventure sports, action sports or even individualistic sports, has vastly increased in the last 20 years. The terms are still up for debate, only vaguely defined and are often used interchangeably. Both viewing and participation in this young sports phenomenon is on the rise, but the importance of it for the world of sports, media sport and the opportunities for sponsorship are little explored. This paper will examine the emergence of extreme sports and the connected industry, the reasons why people are enthralled by the new phenomenon and the opportunities it poses for communicators.