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The purpose of this paper is to understand the perceptions and experiences of healthcare managers working within a community and ambulatory health service who manage poorly performing staff and, to identify the supports, and gaps in supports, that are available to these managers.

Data were collected via two focus groups using a semi-structured schedule. The data were transcribed, themed and conclusions summarised.

On analysis of the discussion of the line managers’ experiences and perceptions of competence, six themes were identified, five themes common to both groups. When discussing the availability and gaps in supports available when managing poor performance, managers were aware of the majority of the supports available to them in the workplace but there was a disconnect between managers and the HR department.

Though the results of this study are not generalisable, as the participants came from programs within a single hospital, they may be transferrable to other healthcare environments. Future research should attempt to replicate these findings using other research techniques.

The findings in this paper indicate that methods should be identified to build better relationships between managers and HR departments, develop clear management learning pathways, and to support managers to manage their emotional responses. These strategies will support organisations to achieve improved outcomes from the performance management processes.

This study contributes to the current literature by identifying key themes that may have an impact on the outcome of performance management processes. These themes would benefit from further exploration.

Owing to its almost universal quotation, the recent action of the Westminster City Council in closing not only its South Audley Street Library but all its newspaper rooms as well, has been the significant event of the last month. By these means, and by severe restriction of its expenditure on new books, a reduction of over three thousand pounds has been effected. Westminster is perhaps the richest borough in London; its library rate of only a fraction of a penny in the pound produces the sum of well‐nigh twelve thousand pounds. Certainly a larger amount than that recorded by any other library authority administering a similar number of libraries, although the fixed charges that have to be met are probably the highest in the Kingdom. Unaware of the extent of the Westminster income various local papers have quoted the amount saved and attempted to draw a moral from it to apply to the libraries in their own localities—libraries which are already in a state of semi‐starvation. It should, therefore, be remembered that, although the Westminster libraries have been crippled to an extent that only their users can know, there is still a larger sum devoted to public libraries in Westminster than in any other borough of similar size, and while Westminster is injured by the loss of one‐third of its income, a similar loss would mean ruin to most other library systems.

The interpersonal theory of suicide (ITS; Joiner, 2005) has gained empirical support as a framework for understanding why people die by suicide in the general population, and more recently, among American Indians (AIs). The purpose of this paper is to examine two key constructs of the theory, perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness as mediators of depression and suicidal ideation within an AI sample.

In all, 156 self-identified AI students completed measures of depression symptoms, thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and suicidal ideation online. Non-parametric bootstrapping procedures were conducted.

Results of bootstrapping analyses indicated that perceived burdensomeness had an indirect effect on the relationship between symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation; however, thwarted belongingness did not demonstrate an indirect effect between symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation. Findings suggest that the ITS construct of perceived burdensomeness may be relevant for the study of AI suicide. Implications for targeting perceptions of burdensomeness in preventative efforts against suicide among AIs are discussed.

This is the first study to examine perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness as mediators of symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation in a sample of AI participants.

ELSEWHERE in this number we list libraries which have Esent us copies of their annual reports which we are glad to have. Now and again we are able to elaborate on these, but in the present issue that has not been possible. We would say, however, that these reports are deserving of the attention of librarians generally, and of students at the library schools. They are records of work in progress, and they do suggest the development of library policy. The best of them are of textbook value.

This chapter conceptualizes computational methods across three related, yet distinct approaches: (1) Social Simulation, (2) Data Science, and (3) Big Data. Group communication research is then situated and reviewed along these three lines of research. Although some areas have considerable visibility (e.g., network analysis, text mining), some areas are less visible in group communication research (e.g., Social Simulation, Big Data designs). The chapter concludes with suggestions for issues regarding reliability, validity, and ethics.

Mr. LEVENSTEIN, the President of the Society of Chemical Industry, in his address delivered at Liverpool recently, dealt very fully with the question of the commercial position of Great Britain as compared with other countries, more especially Germany, and emphasised the fact that if this country is to compete successfully with her contemporaries she must, to use the words of the Prince of Wales at the Gúildhall, “wake up.” After reviewing the chief factors making for Germany's advance in industry and commerce Mr. LEVENSTEIN says: “How are we to defend ourselves? Shall we rest content as we are or bestir ourselves and awake to the irresistible fact that continued apathy and indifference mean ruin to our national position?” This is strong language but not stronger than the occasion demands, for the statistics by which these observations are backed clearly indicate a marked decadence in the national prosperity notwithstanding the years of apparent “record” trade, which, however, cannot be regarded so favourably when subjected to detailed analysis and comparison. Mr. LEVENSTEIN'S suggestions to meet this situation are as follows: (1) The appointment of a competent and expert Minister of Commerce. (2) The nationalisation and extension of our canals and waterways. (3) A measure for greatly extending and improving our secondary education. (4) A sensible reform of our patent laws.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the development and progression of the International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing and include comments on its future direction.

The paper takes the approach of an essay format.

The journal has published key papers in pharmaceutical and healthcare research and continues to develop an interdisciplinary character with contributions from scholarly and practice‐oriented sources.

The paper provides a contemporary appraisal of the status and positioning of the journal.

The market for the assurance of carbon emissions disclosures is showing intensive growth. However, due to the largely voluntary nature of carbon reporting and assurance, there are currently no clear standards or guidelines and little is known about it. The purpose of this paper is to examine the reporting and assurance practices for carbon emissions disclosures.

This study provides evidence on this market, with a sample that includes 13,419 firm-year observations across 58 countries between 2010 and 2017 from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) database.

The results show that the demand for carbon emissions reporting comes mainly from North America, the UK and Japan. Recently, markets such as South Africa have also shown increased demand for carbon reporting. The data also shows that more firms are seeking assurance for their carbon emissions reports. Legitimacy, stakeholder and institutional theories are used to explain the findings of this study.

The results have important implications for firms that produce carbon emissions disclosures, assurance service providers, legislators, regulators and the users of the reports and there should be more specific disclosure guidelines for level and scope of reporting.

Amongst the firms that do provide assurance on their carbon emissions reports, a majority do so using specialist assurance providers, with only limited assurance being provided. The results further show that a myriad of assurance frameworks is being used to assure the carbon emissions disclosures.