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The provision of retail financial services necessarily involves co‐operation between retailers and bankers; bearing in mind the long drawn‐out saga of EFTPoS, this has not been easy to achieve. At a recent conference on retail banking presented by Lafferty Publications, our two contributors discussed the findings of a survey they have carried out into the subject.

Ayrshire has a very high educational reputation in Scotland, and not without reason. It has recently introduced an all‐through, all‐in (no privileged academies excluded), 12–18 comprehensive provision which shows up well against the contorted schemes in other areas. But, before we are carried away in admiration, it is as well to escape from the intimidating myth that Scottish education is ipso facto superior to our own. Certainly in the era of selection, the provision in Ayrshire was arguably more egalitarian. The academies took in up to 40 per cent of the school population at age 12 and passed the majority of these on to some form of higher education. But the tradition was, and still is, strongly academic to the detriment of the other 60 per cent who suffered the double disadvantage of an academic approach unlikely to cultivate their talents before the crucial birthday, and the belief which complements a large selective take‐up that ‘those who would be capable of benefiting from this kind of education’ are getting it.

Prominent figures from the aviation industry named in the New Year Honours' List include H. BRUMBY, formerly chief designer (development), Hawker Siddeley Aviation, and G. R. HOLLAND, assistant flight test manager, British Aircraft Corporation, Commercial Aircraft Division, both awarded the MBE. J. POLLITT, chief test pilot (fixed wing), Rolls Royce, gained an OBE. Changes are announced among the Directors of British Aircraft Corporation Ltd.

A FACTOR which all industrialised countries must take into account is the general increase in the age of the world population. There are many reasons for this increase but one or two are self‐evident. There has been a spectacular drop in infant mortality. The fight against disease is progressively successful. Better living standards make for a sense of well‐being in the population.

This study aims to describe knowledge of Canada’s Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act (GSDOA) and take home naloxone (THN) training and kit possession among people being released from provincial correctional facilities in British Columbia.

The authors conducted surveys with clients of the Unlocking the Gates Peer Health Mentoring program on their release. The authors compared the characteristics of people who had and had not heard of the GSDOA and who were in possession of a THN kit.

In this study, 71% people had heard of the GSDOA, and 55.6% were in possession of a THN kit. This study found that 99% of people who had heard of the GSDOA indicated that they would call 911 if they saw an overdose. Among people who perceived themselves to be at risk of overdose, 28.3% did not have a THN kit. Only half (52%) of participants had a mobile phone, but 100% of those with a phone said they would call 911 if they witnessed an overdose.

The authors found that people with knowledge of the GSDOA were likely to report that they would call 911 for help with an overdose. Education about the GSDOA should be a standard component of naloxone training in correctional facilities. More than one in four people at risk of overdose were released without a naloxone kit, highlighting opportunities for training and distribution. Access to a cellphone is important in enabling calls to 911 and should be included in discharge planning.

Bibliographical materials are often produced on a low budget and against a deadline, and the design of the material often does not adequately represent the structure of the information or facilitate its use. Two studies concerned with optimizing the effectiveness of design given certain practical constraints are reported here. In the first study, ten coding systems suitable for distinguishing between entries in typewritten bibliographies were tested. Subjects were given sections of author index typed in different styles, together with lists of authors' surnames to be found in the test material within a set time. The most effective system made a clear distinction between entries, and between the first element of each entry and the rest of the entry, by indentation. In the second study, the effectiveness of six spatial and three typographic coding systems for distinguishing between entries and between elements within entries in typeset bibliographies was tested for two different search tasks. In Experiment I, subjects were given lists of authors' surnames to find in the test material; in Experiment 2 they were given lists of titles. Spatial coding was more effective than typographic coding in Experiment 1; the reverse was true for Experiment 2. The most effective spatial coding systems in both experiments were those which clearly distinguished the start of each entry by line spacing or indentation. The use of capitals for authors' surnames was the most effective typographic coding system in Experiment 1; the use of bold for titles was the most effective in Experiment 2. The best compromise for both search tasks is likely to incorporate line spacing between entries with elements within entries running on, and bold titles.

The purpose of this study is to understand the lived experience of workers who live in vans to explore how work and non-work interact when one's living environment is mobile.

In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 18 participants. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts, coded while listening to each interview recording, provided a rich account of the interaction of work and non-work life domains.

Several themes were identified, including seeing the van as a home, hidden or disclosed identity stemming from living in a van, financial freedom, career freedom and work/non-work synchronization. Overall, findings suggest that flexible home arrangements, the relocation of one's home to adapt to work, aligned work and non-work domains to positively impact their overall work and non-work satisfaction, providing career freedom and expanded career opportunities.

The understanding of workers who live in vans broadens one’s understanding of mobile work and the work/non-work interface, providing insight into the dual alignment of work and home to accommodate each other, which the authors term work/non-work synchronization.

This is one of the first studies to consider van living from a work and career perspective and for the first time conceptualizes the notion of flexible home arrangements.