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The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the project challenges, human factors and knowledge development that influence the nature of employee engagement in a project team within a global project-based organisation.

A qualitative research design used semi-structured interviews, and observations in team meetings and the work environment to identify characteristics in the work environment which influenced employee engagement.

Workplace characteristics that influence employee engagement relate to the project challenges, the problem-solving nature of work, and achieving specified outcomes within time allocations. Human factors including the manager’s behaviours with feedback and recognition of effort, mentoring, and encouraging collaboration are important in team environment. The potential for learning and knowledge development from the project and with the team positively influence engagement.

This study examines the characteristics of an established project team of 13 consultant engineers from eight nationalities, and forms a basis for future comparison with other project teams with different job types and demographic profiles.

This study contributes to project management (PM) research by broadening the focus from human factors influencing employee engagement to project challenges and knowledge development, with implications for managers in project-based organisations in terms of job design, development of team climate, team processes and their own behaviours.

This study contributes to human factors in PM literature through exploratory research into the antecedents of employee engagement.

The past decade has seen an expansion of psychological treatments available to patients in the NHS. Research into the effectiveness of psychological treatments is also increasing, but this evidence is often not known or used by practitioners. This paper describes the development of a local clinical practice guideline from the research evidence to assist local GPs and psychological practitioners in selecting the most appropriate of three commonly available psychological treatments for adult patients — brief counselling, cognitive behaviour therapy, and psychodynamic psychotherapy. The steps of the guideline development process and difficulties encountered are outlined, and the local dissemination and implementation process described. A survey of GPs and practice counsellors conducted a month following distribution of the guideline found that most recipients reported it useful with many also reporting having used it already in clinical practice. The limitations as well as strengths of this local guideline development process are discussed.

Enterprise development and its contribution to societal and economic outcomes are well known. However, limited research into microenterprises and the practices of microfinance and microcredit in developing countries has been carried out. This chapter presents the findings of research based on six years of engagement with the microentrepreneurs of Beira in Mozambique and suggests a model for responsible and sustainable support for enterprise development in developing economies. Building on semistructured interviews, observation, and participatory action research, this research project articulates a new approach supportive of enterprise development, as a process of cocreation with local people and based on sustainability principles. These findings are part of a longitudinal study of the successes and failures of small enterprises and their impact on social and economic activity.

Business literature reveals the importance of generating innovative products and services, but much of the innovation research has been conducted in large firms and not replicated in small firms. These firms are likely to have different perspectives on innovation, which means that they will probably behave differently to large firms. Our study aims to unpack how firms in Spatial Information perceive and engage in innovation as a part of their business operation.

To investigate these questions we conduct 20 in-depth interviews of top management team members in Spatial Information firms in Australia.

We find that small firms define innovation very broadly and measure innovation by its effect on productivity or market success. Innovation is seen as crucial to survival and success in a competitive environment. Most firms engage in product and/or service innovations, while some also mentioned marketing, process and organisational innovations. Most innovations were more exploitative rather than exploratory with only a few being radical innovations. Innovation barriers include time and money constraints, corporate culture and Government tendering practices. Our study sheds a light on our understanding of innovation in an under-researched sector; that is Spatial Information industry.

Social justice themes permeate the social studies, history, civics, and current events curricula. The purpose of this paper is to examine how non-fiction trade books represented lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals and issues.

Trade books published after 2000 and intended for middle grades (5-8) and high school (9-12) students were analyzed.

Findings included main characters’ demography, sexuality, and various ancillary elements, such as connection to LGBTQ community, interactions with non-LGBTQ individuals, the challenges and contested terrain that LGBTQ individuals must traverse, and a range of responses to these challenges. Publication date, intended audience, and subgenre of non-fiction – specifically, memoir, expository, and historical text – added nuance to findings. Viewed broadly, the books generally engaged in exceptionalism, a historical misrepresentation, of one singular character who was a gay or lesbian white American. Diverse sexualities, races, ethnicities, and contexts were largely absent. Complex resistance structures were frequent and detailed.

This research contributes to previous scholarship exploring LGBTQ-themed fiction for secondary students and close readings of secondary level non-fiction trade books.

In this volume of Advances in Appreciative Inquiry, leading scholars from the fields of management, organization development, information technology, and education come together to chart new directions in Appreciative Inquiry theory and research as well as new intervention practices and opportunities for design in organizations. While diverse in topic and discipline, each of the following original chapters treats the reader to a view of Appreciative Inquiry's revolutionary way of approaching familiar questions of management, organization design, and sustainability.