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Many industrial companies have expressed a growing concern over the quality of managers in manufacturing industry and their ability to adapt to rapid environmental and technological changes. In addition, it has been felt that in the UK, the traditional postgraduate management teaching mechanism tended to be out of date and excessively academic. To address these shortcomings, what seems to be needed is the development of postgraduate courses which place more weight on the industrial experience of the participants. At the same time, it is necessary to give postgraduate teaching a stronger orientation towards the actual needs of industry rather than the perceived needs as seen by the contemporary academic. As a result, companies are now beginning to investigate alternative approaches to developing the business and technical skills of their managers. One such approach has been adopted by a Northern Ireland subsidiary of a multinational corporation in the aerospace industry. As part of this process, the firm asked the University of Ulster, in conjunction with the Irish Management Institute, to provide a programme of developmental support in a comprehensive range of general management concepts, skills and techniques.

This study examined the performance of commercial and residential real estate investments in the Ibadan property market to provide information for investment decisions.

The study used a mixed research design (qualitative and quantitative). Data were obtained employing in-depth interviews with randomly selected sixteen estate surveyors and valuers practising in the Ibadan property market. Data for the study were analysed using the phenomenological thematic content analysis. Similarly, data on rental and capital values were translated to income, capital and holding period returns. The Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin (KPSS) and Philip–Perron (PP) models were used for unit root analysis. Ordinary least square (OLS) regression model was used to test for inflation-hedging characteristics, and the Granger causality tests were carried out to analyse the causal relationship between the variables.

The study revealed that the Ibadan property market is still immature. For the return components, the study found that the Ibadan property market provided mean holding period returns of 10.82%, 14.31 and 8.29% for office, shop and residential property types, respectively. The study also revealed that the selected property types are perverse hedges against inflation. Similarly, the study showed a unidirectional causal relationship between inflation and returns on the selected property types.

Results of this study revealed the peculiar nature of the Ibadan property market; findings from the survey can be used as a guide for investment decisions by foreign and domestic investors. Shrewd investors can take advantage of the high returns provided by the real estate assets in the Ibadan property market (by investing in the property market) to obtain high returns and expand their investment portfolio.

This study is the first to examine, in an eclectic and comparative context, the performance of commercial and residential properties in the Ibadan property market from the perspective of its market maturity level, returns profile, as well as its inflation-hedging characteristics. Findings from the study will equip both individual and institutional investors with valuable information for investment decisions.

Concern for the environment is gathering in importance within organisations and it is increasingly becoming part of organisational strategic agendas. Within that dynamic, organisations are seeking mechanisms through which environmental concerns are championed and fostered. In this paper, we argue that entrepreneurialism can be an effective such mechanism. But we further argue that this will be predicated on taking a different view of the basis of entrepreneurial behaviour, one that is based on various dimensions of commitment. We posit a model of environmental entrepreneurship and discuss the organisational implications of the model.

This chapter is concerned with exploring the various ways in which Pokémon Go complements or challenges family life. The chapter begins by explicating the multisided concept of play and the myriad definitions that surround this term. Having established the various way in which this phenomenon can improve the lives of those who engage in it – physically, emotionally and cognitively – we go on to consider how play has gradually shifted from public spaces and into designated playgrounds, and how this trend corresponds with children concurrently moving away from the streets and into their bedrooms. Following this, we explore the impact digital technologies are having on the practice of parenting, paying particular attention to video games as a significant facet of youth culture that is often associated with a range of negative connotations. Yet, video games are not intrinsically bad. As we outline, research on intergenerational play and joint-media engagement (JME) readily demonstrate the many benefits families can experience when these games are played together. What is missing from this developing body of work is the familial playing of locative games and the extent to which this practice adds contours to our understanding of this field. The chapter is, therefore, driven by the following research questions. First, why and how do families play Pokémon Go? This includes the different roles that family members adopt, alongside motivations for families playing this game, how the playing of this game complements the rhythms of family life and the extent to which this hybrid reality game (HRG) is suited to intergenerational play. Second, what impact does locative familial play have on families, collectively speaking, and regarding individual family members? Here, we are not just interested in whether this game allows families to bond and how this bonding process is experienced, but also whether the familial play of Pokémon Go provides families with any learning opportunities that might facilitate personal growth beyond the game. Third, what worries might parents have about the familial playing of Pokémon Go and to what extent does the locative aspect of this game reshape their apprehensions?

In this chapter, we focus on specially designed instruction (SDI) as a core value for the field of specific learning disabilities (SLD). SDI is at the heart of special education, and the field of LD has been built on the core value that effective instruction improves student outcomes. We describe a two-step test and an extended example of what is and is not SDI for Matt, a student with an SLD. Finally, we discuss some of the confusion surrounding SDI and the need for the field to return to its core value of individualized, intentional, targeted, evidence- or high leverage practice–based, and systematic instruction for students with SLD.

The fundamental problem of designing a wide scope general revenue tax can be reduced to the selection of the base used for administering the tax. Our current personal income tax is a hybrid version of a tax assessed on the basis of a tax unit's annual income receipts. An alternative to an income‐based tax that has received much theoretical treatment but little actual application is an expenditure‐based tax. An expenditure tax (also called a consumption tax or cash flow tax in the context of this paper) differs from an income tax in that it exempts net saving and investment from the tax base. Though the details of a consumption tax design are discussed more fully elsewhere in this paper, the tax base of an expenditure tax is roughly determined by subtracting net savings from gross receipts (including wages, tips, salaries, income from investments, interests, etc.). Withdrawals from savings constitute dissavings and are appropriately included in net savings. The cash flow tax, with wealth transfers deductible to the donor and included in the tax base of the recipient, would be a tax on an individual's standard of living. Similar to the present income tax standard deduction, some universal credit or exemption for a small level of consumption could be allowed.

Reports a review of the Irish economic and political scene as background to a survey of best practice in Irish top management. Addresses issues of the competences required to induce added value performance from total organization. Four long‐term consultancy assignments in different sectors led to the drafting of a questionnaire distributed by the Irish Management Institute; 96 companies took part. Key competences emerged as: vision; team building; practising appropriate personal skills; communication; and generating a success‐oriented culture. Recommendations are given for top level management development.