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Shows how a manufacturer of component quality loudspeakers has introduced plastic injection moulding into its manufacturing competence profile and also automation through the use of robots. Lists the criteria used for robot selection and summarizes the benefits reaped from robotic automation for an in‐house captive moulding operation.

Leadership educators are encouraged to identify and apply new ways to teach leadership. This paper provides the qualitative results of post-secondary students’ reflections of learning leadership concepts after watching several episodes of the television show, The Office. Students used reflective journaling to record their reactions and evaluation of the episodes. Analysis of the journals indicated that students were able to connect the leadership scenarios shown in the episodes to those they may experience in their real life.

Our goals were to explore the pedagogies applied by instructors that supported Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) student learning in a leadership course and the leadership behaviors BIPOC students identified as being applicable after the course.

Through survey research and qualitative data analysis, three prominent themes emerged.

High-quality, purposeful pedagogy created opportunities for students to learn. Second, a supportive, interactive community engaged students with the instructor, each other and the course material to support participation in learning. As a result, students reported experiencing big shifts, new growth and increased confidence during their leadership courses.

We discuss our findings and offer specific recommendations for leadership educators to better support BIPOC students in their leadership courses and classrooms and for further research with BIPOC students.

A recent study of the Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Leadership (MARL) program set out to determine the relationship between andragogical program design and increased levels of emotional intelligence (EI). Members of two cohorts in the MARL leadership development program received different levels of focused effort, peer coaching, individual action plans, disorienting dilemmas, self-reflection, and training in the area of emotional intelligence. We examined four years of data, including participants’ results on the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) before and after undergoing leadership development training, as well as their individual reflections on the EI components of their training. The intention is that this research will encourage practices that seek to increase emotional intelligence in leaders.

A firestorm is a vast wave of negative information about a brand that disseminates quickly online. Their relative unpredictability represents a particularly challenging problem for brand marketers. This paper aims to show how firestorms are enabled and can be disabled by online community members (OCMs), exploring the dissemination of negative electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM), the challenges in countering negative brand information and how brands can effectively communicate with OCMs to facilitate offsetting negative e-WOM.

This paper uses a sequential mixed-method research methodology. Study 1 uses an experimental design and tests serial mediation using PROCESS Model 6. Study 2 extends the findings while introducing a moderator using the PROCESS Model 83. Finally, qualitative findings are used to develop a practitioner-friendly typology of OCMs.

The perceived authenticity of a message can influence the believability of negative WOM in the presence of a negative availability cascade. Positive cascades are likely to prevent online communities from enabling negative e-WOM when the instigating message is perceived to be inauthentic. Qualitative findings from a post hoc analysis identify a typology of eight OCM types that enable and are also capable of disabling firestorms.

OCMs can both actively fuel and cool a firestorm. Brands should always monitor online communities and closely monitor discussions that are most likely to generate firestorms. More proactively, they should also develop communication strategies for each OCM type to help disable firestorms in the making.

Both negative and positive cascades are explored quantitatively and qualitatively to understand the mechanisms that can drive firestorms and provide both warnings and guidance for brands. An OCM typology guides brands’ mitigation strategies.

In a pandemic framework (COVID-19), this chapter explores the impact of the global economy and socio-cultures concerning three axes: recreational, tourism, and hospitality. Although we slowly see an economic revival, it is well known that this sector of study is very susceptible to being affected by the context of nations. Following restrictions and measures taken by governments around the world to reduce the number of cases of coronavirus infections, many nations closed their borders, affecting international travel and by 2020 tourism had been reduced to the near cessation of operations due to the imminent fear of this poorly studied disease, and the service sector was negatively affected. It should be added that, according to the World Tourism Organization's projections, a decrease of between 20 and 30% is forecast for 2020 compared to the previous year.

Work‐related musculoskeletal disorders following patient contact represent a major concern for health care workers. Unfortunately, research and prevention have been hampered by difficulties ascertaining true prevalence rates owing to under‐reporting of these injuries. The purpose of this study is to determine the predictors for under‐reporting work‐related musculoskeletal injuries and their reasons.

Multivariate analysis using data obtained in a survey of Veterans Administration employees in the USA was used to determine underreporting patterns among registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and nursing assistants. Focus groups among health care workers were conducted at one of the largest Veterans Administration hospitals to determine reasons for under‐reporting.

A significant number of workers reported work‐related musculoskeletal pain, which was not reported as an injury but required rescheduling work such as changing shifts and taking sick leave to recuperate. The findings indicate that older health care workers and those with longer service were less likely to report as were those working in the evening and night shifts. Hispanic workers and personnel who had repetitive injuries were prone to under‐reporting, as were workers in places that lack proper equipment to move and handle patients. Reasons for under‐reporting include the time involved, peer pressure not to report and frustration with workers' compensation procedures.

This study provides insights into under‐reporting musculoskeletal injuries in a major US government organization. The research indicates that current reporting procedures appear to be overtly cumbersome in time and effort. More flexible work assignments are needed to cover staff shortfalls owing to injuries. Health education on the detrimental long‐term effects of ergonomic injuries and the need for prompt attention to injuries should prove useful in improving rates of reporting.

Michael Porter′s work, has since it first appeared in 1980, been widely read by academics and students. Perhaps more significantly, Porter has become an academic whose ideas are read and used by executives. Recently Porter′s work has been criticised. This article reviews and discusses these criticisms and attempts to define the status of Porter′s model as a result. The article offers in conclusion a view of Porter′s model that is thought to be realistic.

Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.