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Top-level operations leaders can drive organizational performance across a broad range of pro-environmental objectives. The authors’ focus is on understanding which specific leadership competencies are most conducive to green performance outcomes. The authors further consider the influence of Lean thinking on the importance of these competencies.

In study 1, of a multi-method investigation, the authors interview executive search professionals, on how green objectives impact top-level operations leadership searches. In study 2, the authors adopt a multi-attribute choice task to examine how Lean thinking impacts competency preferences. Finally, in study 3, the authors merge secondary data on corporate environmental performance with a survey of top-level operations managers’ assessments. This triangulating multi-method approach provides an integrated and holistic view into these dynamics.

Results show particularly strong associations between resource and energy management outcomes and the specific leadership competencies of stewardship. This set of leadership competencies play the greatest role when Lean thinking is deficient.

While the authors’ focus is on top-level operations managers, and their under-explored impact on environmental performance, such an impact represents only one dimension of corporate social responsibility (CSR) that these managers may be critically influencing.

The associations uncovered in this research suggest critical leadership characteristics to consider in developing and recruiting top-level operations managers, when specific environmental objectives exist.

The study’s findings draw attention to the importance of leadership characteristics among influential corporate decision-makers, instrumental in the environmental progress of firms.

This work fills a critical gap in the authors’ understanding of how top-level operations managers influence green corporate objective, and how their contributions are valued across settings.

Soil quality is in decline in many parts of the world, in part due to the intensification of agricultural practices. Whilst economic instruments and regulations can help incentivise uptake of more sustainable soil management practices, they rarely motivate long-term behavior change when used alone. There has been increasing attention towards the complex social factors that affect uptake of sustainable soil management practices. To understand why some communities try these practices whilst others do not, we undertook a narrative review to understand how social capital influences adoption in developed nations. We found that the four components of social capital – trust, norms, connectedness and power – can all influence the decision of farmers to change their soil management. Specifically, information flows more effectively across trusted, diverse networks where social norms exist to encourage innovation. Uptake is more limited in homogenous, close-knit farming communities that do not have many links with non-farmers and where there is a strong social norm to adhere to the status quo. Power can enhance or inhibit uptake depending on its characteristics. Future research, policy and practice should consider whether a lack of social capital could hinder uptake of new practices and, if so, which aspects of social capital could be developed to increase adoption of sustainable soil management practices. Enabling diverse, collaborative groups (including farmers, advisers and government officials) to work constructively together could help build social capital, where they can co-define, -develop and -enact measures to sustainably manage soils.

Ex‐service personnel face numerous and significant problems upon discharge from the forces. The purpose of this paper is to explore experiences of the transition from military to civilian life and to identify some of the barriers and facilitators to re‐employment.

In‐depth interviews were carried out with 11 ex‐servicemen who had previously served in the UK armed forces and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).

Participants described their experiences in terms of three broad themes: characteristics of a military life; loss as experienced upon return to civilian life; and the attempt to bridge the gap between these two lives. Transcending these themes was the notion of identity, illustrating that the transition from military to civilian life can be viewed as a shift in sense of self from soldier to civilian.

The current study only recruited male ex‐service personnel and therefore the findings may not accurately represent the experiences of female service leavers.

The military needs to ensure that not only is support provided for all service personnel, but that it goes beyond basic vocational advice. Although the needs of ex‐service personnel are defined by factors other than unemployment, such as trauma or the sudden loss of security, they do relate back to unemployment in some capacity. Methodological changes to the discharge process could help this population to achieve a more continuous trajectory rather than a fragmented one.

The present study has provided further insight into the identity experiences of ex‐service personnel along their journey from soldier to civilian. Breakwell's Identity Process Theory provided a valuable framework for understanding the experiences of ex‐service personnel.

This chapter examines how Maragoli women farmers’ plot-level crop control, individual, and household variables affect yields. This chapter contributes to a holistic understanding of the ramifications of quantitative and qualitative factors informing women farmers’ plot-level undertakings and yields as well as their innovative and creative strategies for optimizing output. It broadens the existing debate in the sub-Saharan African agricultural production literature by suggesting a composite measure of plot-level crop control as one factor influencing women farmers’ yields even in situations where land is owned by someone else. It also provides a rich discussion of the various and interlocking qualitative factors distorting women farmers’ incentive structures, efforts to increase plot-level yields and their strategies for minimizing the detrimental effects of the same.

A multimethod quantitative and qualitative ethnographic case study approach was used in this study.

This chapter demonstrates that women strategically bargained and invested more of their productive resources on the plots where they anticipated the greatest individual gains.

This chapter underscores women farmers’ ability to boost agricultural output when there are appropriate incentives for them to do so and suggests the theoretical and practical relevance of secure control and property rights over the products of the land not for the household (head), but for the cultivator. The chapter demonstrates and reaffirms that Africa women farmers respond appropriately to incentives and suggests that there is need for a customized, renewed, and sustained emphasis on women farmers’ empowerment and inclusion in all levels in the agricultural sector in order to actualize increased yields. Investing in women farmers and implementing policies that narrow existing gender disparities in African agricultural production systems is holistically beneficial.

The purpose of this paper is to provide contemporary information and analysis of women's location within the service sector of New Zealand; to evaluate the responsiveness of two major policy initiatives designed to ameliorate women's circumstances therein; and to reconceptualise and suggest possible approaches and measures which could inform future government and workplace policy and practice.

The study primarily employs a thematic analysis of publicly‐available reports, documentation and pertinent academic work. Secondary, independent statistical analyses of nationally‐representative data are used in order to provide the context and rationale for the policy analysis, and to overview key trends and “problem” areas in the service sector for working women in New Zealand.

New Zealand has a high female labour force participation rate, with more than eight out of 10 female workers employed in service work. Although women remain over‐represented in low‐paid work, they have benefited from service sector growth, higher penetration of professional and managerial work, and some reduction in the gender pay gap. State interventions are justified in equity, labour market and welfare terms, with an emerging focus on “decent work” and productivity. Yet, this analysis of key initiatives for working women reveals an inadequate regulatory and policy framework. The significance and “genderedness” of service work to the economy means that it is increasingly but still insufficiently the focus of economic and social policy.

This study responds to the absence of a contemporary and comprehensive assessment of the location and inequities experienced by different groups of women in New Zealand's service sector, particularly Māori and Pasifika women. It provides a springboard to further analysis of the key trends, themes and policy impacts that it highlights, as well as of a reconceived regulatory approach for women working in the service sector outlined in the Concluding section.

Junior doctors rotating through psychiatry often practise in isolated environments with little prior experience in this field. This can cause anxiety amongst doctors, and may potentially lead to patient safety concerns. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A novel peer-led simulation style teaching session was developed to improve junior doctor knowledge and confidence when working with psychiatry rotations out of hours.

Following successful completion of two iterations of the teaching, junior doctors reported increased confidence, reduced anxiety and a more positive attitude following the session. Facilitators were similarly positive in their feedback, being able to gain formal teaching experience and appraisal.

A novel, inexpensive and easily replicable teaching session is introduced, which can improve junior doctors’ practice and experience when working in psychiatry settings out of hours.

Expert consensus is that people with an intellectual disability are over represented across the criminal justice setting (CJS). Primary research studies have been conducted in police stations and prisons, but little is known about the prevalence of this population in the court setting. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a literature review to find out more about the prevalence of defendants with an intellectual disability in court.

A literature review was conducted using standard systematic review methodology (Julian et al., 2011) and the PRISMA reporting guidelines (Moher et al., 2009).

Two papers met the inclusion criteria and were critically appraised. The papers reported prevalence findings ranging from 10%–20%.

Differences in study design, sampling, recruitment and diagnostic criteria affect the ability to make comparisons or synthesise findings.

It is important that future primary and secondary research studies standardise operational terms to enable true comparison between studies, systematic reviews and evidence syntheses.

Defendants with an intellectual disability need to be identified to enable criminal justice professionals to make reasonable adjustments to proceedings and consider diversion and alternative disposal options. This will likely improve outcomes for this population and reduce recidivism.

This literature review contributes to the growing evidence base about meeting the criminal justice needs of people with a learning disability and recognition of the increased prevalence across the CJS and specifically within the court setting.

This paper calls for a reconsideration of standard narratives regarding the role of small, independent retailers for twentieth‐century urban communities. The paper aims to discuss the issues.

Taking the German city of Bremen as an example, the paper problematizes the nostalgic treatment of independent “Aunt Emma” (or “mom‐and‐pop”) stores in Germany during the last quarter of the century, by recounting the often conflict‐laden history of small retailers within the urban community. It draws on primary documents from retail associations, the chamber of commerce, municipal administrations, as well as media coverage.

The romanticization of the corner grocer overlooked the often divisive role of small store‐keepers in the interwar years as well as the social considerations behind some forms of retail modernization.

Beyond the particular examples of Bremen or even Germany, the paper urges historians of modern retailing to critically analyze the everyday role shops and shopkeepers have played within their communities without at the same time embracing a market‐liberal narrative of retail modernization as a function of consumer demand.

The purpose of this paper is to assess changes in rates of mental health problems and service utilisation for Australian regular injecting drug users (IDUs) from 2006 to 2012.

Data were taken from Illicit Drug Reporting System national surveys with 914 regular IDUs in 2006 and 883 in 2012. Changes in rates of self-reported mental health problems and service use were assessed.

Rates of self-reported mental health problems increased from 38.3 per cent in 2006 to 43.7 per cent in 2012 – mainly due to increases in anxiety rates. Conversely, there was a decrease in mental health service use from 70.2 to 58.4 per cent by 2012. However, there was a proportional increase in the use of psychologists. These trends remained after controlling for socio-demographic and medical differences between the 2006/2012 samples. K10 scores for 2012 participants validated the use of the self-report measures.

Reductions in stigma, improvements in mental health literacy, and modest increases in anxiety may explain increases in self-report of mental health problems. Stagnant service utilisation rates in an expanding population willing to self-report may explain decreasing service use. The introduction of key mental health reforms also may have contributed, particularly with the increase in psychologist access. This paper highlights the need for improved population monitoring of mental health in disadvantaged groups such as IDUs.

This paper is the first to assess changes in mental health outcomes over time in Australian IDUs. This examination covered a critical era in the mental health landscape, with significant increases in public awareness campaigns and major mental health reforms.

The spouses or partners of serving members of the UK Armed Forces are often subject to similar constraints to those of enlisted personnel. This paper aims to examine the experiences and wellbeing of a group of army wives. In particular, it focuses on their shared experiences of consumer vulnerability and related challenges, exploring the extent to which membership of military wives’ communities can help them to cope.

Using an interpretivist approach, data were collected through four focus group discussions involving 30 army wives, and seven individual in-depth interviews.

The paper highlights shared experiences of consumer vulnerability and demonstrates how army wives’ approaches to coping incorporate both individual and community-based approaches. It proposes that communities of coping develop within the army wives community, providing women with both practical and emotional support.

The paper acknowledges that there is a range of factors that will impact military spouses’ experiences of consumer vulnerability and strategies for coping. This heterogeneity was difficult to capture within a small exploratory study.

The UK Government should consider their duties towards military spouses and children. This would entail a significant cultural shift and recognition of military personnel’s caring responsibilities.

This research contributes to understandings regarding the potentially shared nature of both consumer vulnerability and coping strategies. The study introduces the relevance of communities of coping to consumer contexts, highlighting how members can benefit from both practical and emotional support.