Innovative Retail and the UK Growth Agenda

The context for this paper is the 2010 Cameron Government growth review which identified retail as one of six sectors capable of delivering significant economic growth and stimulating employment in the post-economic crisis period. Additionally the paper relates to recent arguments in UK public policy regarding innovation in services. In the UK retail sector accounts for 8% of GDP and employs 1 in 10 of the workforce. Annual turnover was 316 billion in 2009 of which GVA was 68 billion. This placed the UK’s retail sector as the sixth largest in the world in terms of sales. The paper focuses on three case studies spread across the size spectrum. a.Tesco – the UK’s largest retailer, where the focus will be on the innovative aspects of the firm’s recent high risk US market entry, specifically the novel ‘capabilities’ which Fresh & Easy Tesco’s US subsidiary has developed and the potential for future growth both in the US and other international markets via the scaling up of these innovations. b.Jack Wills – a high growth medium sized clothing retailer whose profitability growth currently exceeds 70% per annum. Notable for its word of mouth/viral marketing techniques, the firm has recently expanded its reach to include a sister brand Aubin & Wills targeting a different demographic sector. In addition the firm has recently expanded into east coast USA specifically to Boston, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket and has plans for further expansion to Japan within the next eighteen months. c.The Hambledon a mini ‘lifestyle’ department store recently ranked within the top seven inspiring independent clothing retailers in the UK and regularly highlighted as ‘cutting edge’ within the media. Notable for its ‘choice edited’ collection the store has demonstrated a remarkable ability to capture growth during the recent crisis period in UK consumer confidence. The studies reveal some of the barriers and opportunities faced by retailers in delivering the growth the UK Government seeks. Additionally they illustrate the key role that retailers play in the development and sustainability of innovative urban spaces and the creative economy.

Opportunities for faculty-librarian collaboration in an expanded dentistry curriculum.

With the increased emphasis on evidence-based practice, developing information literacy (IL), as well as other literacies (e.g., oral), earlier in programs is becoming widely accepted in medicine and allied fields. However with long-standing programs integration of IL instruction is often unplanned at the programmatic level. This contributes to deficiencies in advanced students and frustrations for students and faculty. The Indiana University School of Dentistry has expanded its Dental Hygiene curriculum from a two-year program to a four-year Bachelor of Science. This expansion provided the opportunity to plan integration of information and oral health literacy instruction and evidence-based practice across the new curriculum. Library and Dental Hygiene faculty collaborated to adapt existing undergraduate and oral health pedagogies and assessments, as well as create new ones which are appropriate for integration into various courses. This expanded curriculum integrates lesson plans, assignments, and assessments that support dental hygiene and other health fields but also complement general education and provide transferrable skills for any major. Courses have heavy librarian integration, both in the classroom and the course management software, as well as asynchronous learning tools, with opportunities for team teaching and robust student assessment, including authentic assessment

Changes over time in the relationship between weight, body fat, motivation, impulsivity and eating behaviour

Abstract Background University students are at a greater risk of gaining weight compared to others. We explored associations between changes in weight and a set of dispositional constructs related to eating behaviour: motivation, impulsivity, social comparison, and eating styles. We predicted that increases in controlled motivation, impulsivity, uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, and physical appearance comparison would be related to increased weight and body fat. Methods First year students at a British university completed baseline (n = 196) and three-month (n = 163) measures of impulsivity, physical appearance comparison, motivation for following a healthy diet, eating styles, weight and body fat. Baseline-follow-up changes in these constructs were computed and subjected to cluster analysis. Results Four participant groups were identified according to similarities in the way these constructs evolved over time. The Losing and Gaining groups tended to show opposing changes in key variables (physical appearance comparison, uncontrolled eating, motivation, weight, and percentage of body fat). Interestingly, two groups showed no change in weight and body fat but evidenced unique changes in key variables, indicating that individuals can have different psychological profiles but still maintain their weight. Conclusions The study highlighted how stable weight maintenance arises from sets of interdependent constructs rather than variables in isolation, as well as emphasizing a need to take a person-centred approach to examining those at risk of weight gain and in developing interventions

Reforming the family justice system initiative

Family breakdown is common and brings with it many challenges for parents and their children. These challenges are compounded by the current family justice system, which is adversarial in nature, complex and costly for families. Over the years, the justice community has tried isolated interventions to improve access to justice, and while these projects, reforms and programs have achieved some good, they have not created the system-wide change we desire. We’ve learned from past experience that the only way to bring about meaningful, systemic change is to have a broad collaboration of all the participants in the justice system come together to work collectively to create the change we desire. In the RFJS initiative, we are exploring systemic design processes to address complex problems through systemic change. This case study includes a description of the steps taken to bring together a collaborative alliance made up of approximately 200 individuals and organizations representing ten sectors that work within the broadly defined family justice system. Over the past year, we have held four workshops designed to build community and relationships among the collaborators; to gather information about the focus of concern within our collaborative alliance; to develop an understanding of systemic change and innovative lab processes; and to ensure that there is a shared commitment to change. The main technique and method used throughout this process was Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) developed by Sohail Inayatullah, a futures studies researcher. While our current family justice system is characterized by a focus on family breakdown and legal responses, the space created through CLA enables us to consider solutions that might exist entirely outside the current understanding. Additionally, the language of the mental model and Theory of Change help us to understand and talk about the system in new ways that are much more focused on helping families to thrive, and recognize that family justice issues are primarily social and relationship problems which contain a legal element. This initiative is increasing the knowledge and capacity for systemic change among all participants in the RFJS. We are building an awareness and understanding of innovative approaches, developmental evaluation and collaborative action that has not previously existed among these participants. This project is opening up a space to enable stakeholders (clients, families, and those who work within the system) to reframe the problems that they encounter in family justice. We are creating a culture of learning that allows us to learn as we go forward, and will support continued improvement in the family justice system

Improving First-Year Student Research And Information Literacy Pedagogy By Integrating Librarians

Presented at the 2016 E. C. Moore SymposiumA faculty member and librarian collaborated to adapt a new programmatic IUPUI Bridge/FYS information literacy curriculum to a highly disciplinary, pre-professional course (Dental Hygiene). Development of information literacy instruction that met all the needs of students in the first year experience was only allowable through the close collaboration and multiple levels of library intervention during curriculum scaffolding

Adolescent Experiences of Disclosing Sexual Orientation to Healthcare Professionals

The aim of this research was to examine the experiences of adolescents disclosing their sexual orientation, with specific focus on making the actual disclosure from the young person’s perspective. There is a paucity of existing literature in this field and it is hoped that this thesis will add to the body of knowledge related to lesbian, gay and bisexual adolescents. Chapter one examines the current knowledge around the impact on, and experience of, young people who disclose lesbian, gay or bisexual sexual orientation in any setting. Findings are discussed under three main categories; Reactions to disclosure, Consequences of disclosure and cultural and ethnic differences. It is recognised that there is overlap between these areas with factors that will inevitably interact. The second chapter investigates the experiences of adolescents who have disclosed their sexual orientation to a healthcare professional. Analysis of interviews with seven participants indicated four main themes: Identity formation, the moment of disclosure, additional influences of disclosure and professional roles and responsibilities. These themes are discussed in the context of existing theories and current research. Clinical implications, study limitations and future research avenues are also discussed. Chapter three contains the author’s reflections on the process of completing the thesis, along with personal reflections of the thesis topic and reasons for beginning this investigation.

Attitudes toward intimate partner “honor”-based violence in India, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan

Although intimate partner violence (IPV) and ‘honor’-based violence (HBV) are major concerns throughout the world, little research has investigated the acceptance of these forms of abuse outside of the West. This study therefore responds to this gap in the literature by exploring attitudes towards HBV in a fictional depiction of IPV across four Asian samples: India, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan. Participants (n=579) read a hypothetical scenario in which a husband, despite his own marital infidelity, verbally abuses and physically assaults his wife after discovering that she has been unfaithful. Participants then completed a questionnaire that assessed perceptions of damage to the husband’s honor, approval of intimate partner HBV against the wife, and perceptions of both the victim-wife and the perpetrator-husband. Findings revealed that more males than females, across all four nations, were endorsing of honor-adhering attitudes in response to the perceived threat to the husband’s reputation resulting from the wife’s infidelity. Additionally, of the four samples, Pakistani participants were the most approving and Malaysians least endorsing of honor-adhering attitudes. Results are discussed in relation to studies of honor-adherence in Asian populations. This study provides an original glimpse into the perceptions of intimate partner HBV in these not-often sampled nationalities

Trauma characteristics and posttraumatic growth: The mediating role of avoidance coping, intrusive thoughts and social support

Objective: Previous research suggests trauma characteristics can impact on posttraumatic growth (PTG). The current study considers whether previously identified predictors of PTG may produce different outcomes dependent on the characteristics of the trauma experienced. Method: Active coping, avoidant coping, emotional coping, intrusive thoughts, social support and spirituality were examined as potential mediators of relationships between trauma characteristics (interpersonal trauma, number of trauma types and childhood trauma) and PTG. The responses of 268 adults exposed to multiple and wide-ranging stressors were used to generate three multiple mediation models. Results: Intrusive thoughts and social support exerted small but significant indirect effects in all three multiple mediation models. Avoidant coping mediated associations between the number of trauma types and PTG, and the relationship between childhood trauma to PTG. Conclusion: Relationships between trauma characteristics and PTG appear to be explained through the presence of avoidant coping strategies, intrusive thoughts and the individual’s social environment, which could be the focus of intervention efforts to promote positive change