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Many GPs still refuse to treat drug users, despite recent incentives and the introduction of the GP contract. Ask why and most will tell you that they fear a lack of appropriate support in treating what they see as an often complex and difficult to treat area. Hannah Jacksley and colleagues believe this can all be overcome by one person — bring on the specialist nurse.

This study aims to examine how variations in the perceived gender (a)typicality of front-line staff impact on consumer spending. Gender typicality is defined here as traditionally masculine-looking men and feminine-looking women, whereas gender atypicality, in contrast, refers to feminine-looking men and masculine-looking women.

Using an experimental design, the authors use simulated consumption scenarios across two separate studies, one in the USA and the other in South Korea. In each study, the authors investigate main and interaction effects in relation to front-line employees’ race (white vis-à-vis Asian) and baseline gender (originally male vis-à-vis originally female).

Across the two studies, consumers spent more money with gender-typical female front-line staff or, alternatively stated, less money with more masculine-looking female front-line staff. The effect of the male service staff was more complicated. In both countries, the authors found a significant consumer preference for gender-atypical (i.e. more feminine-looking), Asian male employees, compared to more masculine-looking Asian men.

The experimental design strengthens claims of not only good internal validity but also weakens the generalizability of the findings. Field research is needed to explore these effects in various workplaces and sectors. The authors also acknowledge the limitations of operationalizing the gender (a)typicality of front-line staff by manipulating facial structures. Future research should manipulate gender (a)typicality using sociological and performative indicators.

The authors contribute to ongoing debates surrounding the legality and ethics of regulating employee appearance in the workplace. Employers must consider whether this type of “lookism” is legally and morally defensible.

This is, to the knowledge, the first-ever study to examine the effect of front-line employee gender non-conformity on consumer behavior and decision-making. The authors show how variations in perceived gender (a)typicality can, variously, promote or retard consumer spending. The study is original in that it shifts the debate from traditional studies of between-gender differences to a focus on within-gender differences. The key value of the research is that it shines a much-needed light on the changing role of gender in the workplace.

Roots of global Terrorism are in ‘failed’ states carved out of multiracial empires after World Wars I and II in name of ‘national self‐determination’. Both sides in the Cold War competed to exploit the process of disintegration with armed and covert interventions. In effect, they were colluding at the expense of the ‘liberated’ peoples. The ‘Vietnam Trauma’ prevented effective action against the resulting terrorist buildup and blowback until 9/11. As those vultures come home to roost, the war broadens to en vision overdue but coercive reforms to the postwar system of nation states, first in the Middle East. Mirages of Vietnam blur the vision; can the sole Superpower finish the job before fiscal and/or imperial overstretch implode it?

Genetic algorithms are a class of non‐deterministic algorithms that derive from Darwinian evolution and that provide good, though not necessarily optimal, solutions to combinatorial problems. We describe their application to the identification of characteristics that occur approximately equifrequently in a database, using two different methods for the creation of the chromosome data structures that lie at the heart of a genetic algorithm. Experiments with files of English and Turkish text suggest that the genetic algorithm developed here can produce results superior to those produced by existing non‐deterministic algorithms; however, the results are inferior to those produced by an existing deterministic algorithm.

The March issue of the Journal of Chemical Technology contains the following article, with every word of which we cordially agree. It is gratifying to find that there is one—if only one—of our scientific Journals which has the courage and the patriotism to speak out and to do so in vigorous terms. The indictment of the flabby persons belonging to the Chemical Profession who by their ineptitude and inertia are condoning the bestial crimes of the modern Huns is well‐timed and thoroughly deserved.

This study aims to investigate the mediating role of quality culture (QC) between transformational leadership (TFL), transactional leadership (TNL) and organizational performance (OP) in higher education institutions.

The study collects data through a nationwide survey of administrators representing public and private universities in Pakistan using stratified random sampling techniques, while partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is used for data analysis.

The results show that both TFL and TNL directly influence QC and that QC directly influences OP. Additionally, the study reveals significant indirect effects of TFL and TNL on OP through QC. However, the direct effects of TFL and TNL on OP are not empirically supported.

This study contributes theoretically to the understanding of OP in universities by examining valuable resources (TFL, TNL) and dynamic capability (QC) as predictors while also introducing QC as a mediator to explain the underlying mechanism between TFL, TNL and OP. However, limitations include a cross-sectional design, a small sample size and reliance on administrators' perceptions as the sole respondents.

This study provides interesting insights for leaders, policymakers and quality managers to integrate valuable, dynamic resources and foster QC by increasing quality awareness at all departmental levels, thereby improving university performance.

The novelty of this study is the introduction of QC as a mediator of TFL, TNL and OP in a university setting.