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This article summarises the development of information skills teaching for undergraduates and postgraduates at the University of Hull, including the move to accredited modules with self‐study materials. Virtual learning environments are discussed, and the experiences of placing two self‐study information skills modules on the Blackboard CourseInfo VLE are described. Some future plans are outlined.

The purpose of this article is to study the construct of reputation in retail services, its dimensions and attributes from the store management perspective.

The article adapts the conceptual model developed by Vidaver‐Cohen who suggests that reputation predictors are formed by eight quality dimensions. In the first stage of the study 18 interviews were carried out. In the second stage a survey containing 170 statements was conducted.

The main contribution lies on the identification of the context specific attributes of the quality dimensions of reputation and their content in retailing.

The study focuses on identifying reputation dimensions and their attributes and contents in the retail context. The empirical data were gathered from stores located in shopping centres.

The study suggests that reputation management in the service sector might be easier if managers were better able to recognise the industry‐related quality dimensions of reputation. In addition, stores should be more prepared for unforeseen, even disastrous events and publicity that may ruin their reputation in one way or another.

Numerous researchers have recognised the critical role of reputation in marketing, but as yet empirical reputation studies are scarce, at least in retailing services.

Social constructionist perspectives are becoming increasingly influential in organisational and management studies. Evaluates an experientially based personal development module on a management diploma that was re‐designed according to social constructionist ideas about learning and managerial activity. In particular, the paper assesses whether storytelling and argument analysis are viable elements in experientially based teaching, and considers how they mediate the processes of learning and action. It is concluded that storytelling and argument analysis are viable techniques, that they facilitate multiple perspective taking and negotiation and help in the creation of intelligible solutions in joint action with others. While accepting that there are a number of difficulties with the approach, we suggest that it provides management educators with another method of experiential learning, and that it is particularly appropriate to those wishing to encourage managers to explore and develop social constructionist perspectives in a practical and action orientated way.

Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the Afro‐American experience and to show the joys, sorrows, needs, and ideals of the Afro‐American woman as she struggles from day to day.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether responsible purchasing (relational commitment and supplier evaluation) and responsible supply (supplier firm information sharing and supplier performance) affect the two factors of supply chain responsiveness including process efficiency and customer knowledge management capability, which, in turn, affect other three factors of supply chain responsiveness, such as dyadic quality performance, innovation capability and buyer‒supplier relationship improvement.

This study used questionnaire survey and statistical analytical methods. Employing path analysis, this study tested hypothesized relationships using data collected from manufacturers.

The findings of this study support the theorized links. Responsible purchasing and supply enhance supply chain responsiveness, which is reflected through process efficiency, customer knowledge management capability, dyadic quality performance, innovation capability and buyer‒supplier relationship improvement.

Grounded in the goal interdependence theory, this study investigates the effects of responsible purchasing and supply on supply chain responsiveness in the context of Chinese manufacturers. This study offers managerial implications and theoretical contribution.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and moderating effect of gender and parental status on the relationship between international business travel days and work-to-family conflict (WFC) among international business travellers (IBTs) on the basis of the conservation of resources theory.

The study was conducted among 1,366 Finnish people in jobs demanding international business travel and a moderated hierarchical regression was utilised in data analysis.

An increase in the number of international business travel days and being a parent is positively related to WFC. Women with dependent children experience a lower level of WFC than do men with dependent children. However, a significant interaction effect between international business travel days, parental status and gender was found that indicates that the volume of travel days increases the level of WFC for those women who have children more than it does for women who do not have children. For men, increased numbers of travel days raises levels of WFC, as does having children, but there is no interaction between travel days and parental status among men. An increased number of travel days was least critical for WFC among women without dependent children and most critical for WFC among women with dependent children However, women with dependent children were able to travel to a considerable extent before their levels of WFC overtook those of men with dependent children.

The findings indicate that organisations should pay particular attention to developing policies and practices that take account of the family status of the traveller. In addition, to assist IBTs to cope with their WFC, attention should be paid to the intensity of work-related travel. However, gender seemed not to play a particularly important role in WFC, indicating that organisations need not be wary of recruiting both men and women into roles involving international business travel.

This is the first study focusing on IBTs WFC that simultaneously takes account of how the intensity of business travel and both gender and parenthood are related to it.

The authors of this volume present a wide range of perspectives, case studies, and theories on partnerships for international development. The authors discuss the leadership approaches, principles, frameworks, and elements needed to develop effective university partnerships for international development. In the age of globalization, these types of international partnerships are an essential element to drive political reform, social development, and economic growth, and as such, they have become an essential element in today’s global system of higher education. Within the context of a rapidly changing higher education system, international collaborations encourage diverse and inclusive learning environments. Readers of this volume will also understand the principles for making international joint activities structurally sound and socially oriented.

The average American child spends more time “playing”¹ than doing any other activity besides sleeping and attending school (watching television comes in next, with children gradually replacing play time with TV time as they grow older) (Hofferth & Sandberg, 2001a, b). In fact, free, unstructured time makes up between 20 and 50% of children’s waking hours² (Hofferth & Sandberg, 2001a, b; Larson & Richards, 1989). Nonetheless, sociologists currently know very little about how children’s free time use influences their well-being. Although scholars, teachers, and parents all have strong opinions about the types of free-time activities that they think are “best” for children, recent studies of the association between children’s time use and their well-being have failed to find consistent associations (Hofferth & Sandberg, 2001a, b; McHale, Crouter & Tucker, 2001).

The purpose of this paper is to explore the dilemmas that challenge reputation management in the context of higher education (HE).

The paper introduces one Finnish multidisciplinary master's degree programme as a case in point. The empirical data comprises a student survey and semi-structured interviews with internal and external stakeholders whose work relates to the master's degree programme in question.

The findings identify different types of dilemmas arising from collaboration between stakeholders of HE.

The paper demonstrates how the dilemma-reconciliation method can be used to enhance reputation management in HE.

The novelty of the paper is in applying dilemma theory (Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars, 2000) in parallel with reputation theories. Dilemma theory attributes reputation risks to conflicting aims.