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Introduces business education by distance learning. Discusses the historical background and emergence of distance learning. Describes a set of procedures used by Heriot‐Watt University, Edinburgh. Concludes that routes to higher education can be met by new methodologies including distance learning courses.

This article concentrates on the distinctive features of a circulation control system designed to achieve simplicity of procedure at the final user/system interface. The system has been operating off‐line since September 1972, but the design of the data file structures also permits on‐line interrogation. Methods of book and borrower numbering, and the handling of multiple‐copy reservations are described. Flexible day‐to‐day control of processing and outputs required is exercised by the library by the input of parameter cards. Printout has been reduced to a minimum, all notices to borrowers are printed on a single pre‐printed form, and as much use as possible is made of information already recorded manually. The system seeks to achieve automation of data control without the proliferation of data records which a computer system can tend to encourage.

This paper aims to provide a historical understanding of the unemployment context experienced by the New Zealand population during the Great Depression, which might have caused people to commit financial crimes, such as fraud, to survive.

The main source of information is narratives from newspaper articles published by 42 newspapers from 1931 to 1950 that explore New Zealanders’ experiences during declined economic conditions.

During the period studied, New Zealanders suffered because of various challenges, mainly unemployment. The government’s response was criticised by the people who used the newspapers as a medium to unleash their frustration about the fairness of unemployment relief for the unemployed and taxation of those who were employed. Some people who struggled in between jobs, as well as some who found themselves being disadvantaged, turned to deviant behaviour such as fraud. The fraudsters might be thought of as the victims of the day, committing a crime of survival, not a crime of choice.

This research promotes more historical studies to enrich fraud-auditing literature. The lack of detailed information reported in the newspapers during this period limits making specific links to individual circumstances.

Fraudsters have always been perceived as responsible for their destinies, but a wider social and political context is rarely examined in fraud cases. The period chosen for this paper represents the extreme condition in which the elements of motive, opportunity and rationalisation are all interwoven into one.

Image analysis faces data reduction problems when deriving low‐dimensional image spaces (‘perceptual maps’) from multidimensional profile data. The neurocomputing methodology of Self‐Organizing Maps may contribute to finding a radically parsimonious representation. The principles of SOM methodology are shown in a case study on the company images of nine Austrian tour operators.

This study identified and analyzed the 29 empirical articles which created 65 new scales that were published from 1996–2004 within the Spirituality, Religion, and Work (SRW) domain. Utilizing Hinkin's (1995) methodology for evaluating questionnaire scale development as a model, this study reviewed: (1) item generation issues such as inductive vs. deductive approaches; (2) scale development issues such as sampling and validity/reliability assessment; and (3) scale evaluation issues such as convergent validity testing. The study found that the vast majority of studies (86%) reported detail on the item development process for the new scales used; the primary method for item development was deductive, based on existing theory. In the area of scale development, only 45% of the studies reported using factor analysis for evaluation of constructs; of those that did, less than 25% of those reported information regarding factor retention criteria, such as eigenvalues. With regard to the internal consistency, the coefficient alpha was reported in only 45% of the studies. However, in those cases where scale development practices were described, the information was generally quite detailed and reflected statistical rigor. Few studies (38%) reported any information related to scale evaluation. Similar to Hinkin's (1995) conclusions from his review of scales in the management field, this study found scale development practices within the SRW domain to be inconsistent. The article reports detailed findings using Hinkin ‘s (1995) detailed methods and discusses practical implications for editors, reviewers and SRW researchers.

The aim of this research is to assess the role of mentoring as an approach to training and development for small‐ to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) retailers. Mentoring requires the teaming of a knowledgeable person with a learner, to enable a transfer of information, skills and expertise. Importantly it allows greater flexibility in the timing and location of learning. The research is being undertaken in the London Borough of Merton through an 18‐month project. This study forms an interim assessment and analysis of 40 retailers’ responses to the mentoring process, the types of learning needs encountered, the implementation of mentoring and their experiences and learning outcomes. It concludes by assessing the effectiveness of the initial outcomes of the project against its objectives and evaluating emerging themes in SME retail management.

Le tourisme peut être considéré comme un domaine relevant traditionnellement de l'économie, tandis que le domaine de la culture prend une orientation plus sociale. Cependant, même si cette différence entre les deux domaines est réelle, l'importance des liens fondamentaux qui existent entre le tourisme et la culture n'est pas négligeable, et les caractéristiques socio‐culturelles d'une région peuvent être un des aspects les plus importants de l'attrait de cette région. A l'inverse, le succès enregistré par une région au point de vue touristique peut aussi avoir des effets profonds, négatifs ou positifs, sur la vie culturelle de cette région. La présente étude a donc pour objectif d'explorer la nature et la force de principaux liens qui peuvent exister entre les phénomènes du tourisme et de la culture.

The purpose of this paper is to generate insights into the area of tourism destination image.

This paper was based on earlier work that identified a number of gaps in the literature related to destination image, and a qualitative design that incorporated structured interviews generated the results.

Indicated that when individuals (45) were requested to respond to questions that included the terms image and perceptions of a destination, the responses were mostly identical. There was, however, some differences in the content of a small but significant number of responses (15) to the image question. Moreover, these individuals were more animated than the others, and six of them used colours in their response.

The representativeness and generalisibility of the findings are limited due to the small and convenient sample that formed the basis of this study.

These findings provide interesting possibilities for tourism destination researchers and question whether managers and marketers should use the term image when gathering the information.

This paper has contributed to the development of theory related to destination image and has presented insights that have not yet been considered in the tourism literature.

Collaborative consumption (CC), a unique business model, provides several monetary and non-monetary benefits to customers. Several adapted theory of planned behaviour (TPB)-based models were developed and tested to understand this consumption behaviour with the findings inconsistent and fragmented. Thus, this study aims to develop a general and consistent TPB model using a meta-analytic path analysis to better understand customers’ CC adoption behaviour.

Using 37 studies, a meta-analysis was performed adopting several analytical methods; bivariate analysis, moderation analysis and path analysis.

The universal TPB model shows that factors, that is, trust, attitude, perceived environmental responsibility and communication facilities, drive both perceived usefulness and CC. However, subjective norms, such as perceived behavioural control and emotional value, drive only perceived usefulness. Moderation analysis shows that the relationships between variables used in the proposed TPB model tends to vary depending on five moderators, that is, countries’ economic development level, type of CC, sample size, sample type and survey administration method.

The consideration of only quantitative papers and papers written in English language in this meta-analysis may bias the study’s findings.

Based on the findings regarding important factors that consumers consider when adopting CC, this study provides insightful recommendations to companies facilitating CC.

By developing the universal TPB model, this study theoretically contributes to the TPB model, and by conducting the moderation test, the study contextually contributes to the TPB literature in the CC context.

Hospitality and tourism researchers are yet to provide evidence of actual crisis management amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially from a resource-scarce destination perspective. By adapting a crisis management framework, the authors elected to fill this gap by exploring small and medium-sized hospitality and tourism operators' (SMHTOs) personal experiences of managing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Ghana. The study uncovers their crisis-coping strategies as well as immediate- and long-term post-recovery strategies.

Using a qualitative lens, informed by phenomenology as well as theoretical saturation, data were collected from 20 owner-managers (OMs) and non-owner managers (NOMs) of accommodation, restaurants, travel and tour (T&T) agencies and souvenir shop operators via a combination of telephone and socially distanced face-to-face interviews as well as participant observation. Data were thematically analysed involving both deductive and inductive coding techniques. Data validity and reliability were confirmed using “member check” and inter-rater/coder reliability statistic in SPSS, respectively.

Impacts of the pandemic on businesses included shutdowns, booking cancellations, revenue drops, lay-offs and defaults in the payment of pension contributions and taxes. The pandemic greatly impacted the accommodation, T&T and souvenir shop operators compared to food and beverage (F&B) operators due to the temporary closure of Ghana's borders and major attractions. The study identified six phases in SMHTOs’ crisis management process: awareness, combating the spread of COVID-19, coping mechanisms, short-term/immediate and long-term recovery measures and lessons learned. Besides, state institutions and personal beliefs influenced the coping and recovery actions used by SMHTOs.

It is critical for governments and industry management institutions to consider the capabilities and specific actions taken by SMHTOs during a crisis such as COVID-19 in the efforts to support their crisis preparedness and response strategies. Furthermore, SME operators in the industry must see insurance uptake as one important measure that could help them cope with the losses instigated by the impact of a crisis and possibly speed up their recovery.

The study extends the general crisis management framework by including additional phases of crisis management and the specific activities carried out by SMHTOs in managing the COVID-19 crisis. This makes this study one of the first studies in Africa that examined crisis-coping and post-recovery strategies amongst small and medium-sized hospitality and tourism firms.