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Communication in any organization is a complex phenomenon. Public schools are people‐centered enterprises in which the primary tasks of teaching and learning are accomplished verbally. Within each school, the principal is uniquely positioned to regulate these communications activities. The research reported here sought to examine how five school principals managed communications in their schools. Three major questions guided the research. What are the preferred modes and levels of communications activities utilized by principals? What are the major messages communicated through various modes and at different levels by principals? What do the communications activities of individual principals tell us about how principals interpret their leadership role in school, how they set administrative priorities, and how they put their beliefs and values into practice? The findings indicate that the communications activities of school principals are dominated by dyadic interpersonal contacts. The major purpose of these dyadic interpersonal exchanges were maintenance messages which related to policies, procedures, and regulations for organizing, operating and perpetuating the school. As an adaptation to the nature of a principal's work life, each principal demonstrated a pragmatic preference for accomplishing his/her communications through talk even when written messages or other mechanisms for message delivery would have been more efficient. Finally, the principals believed that the success of their communications activities in school was characterized by openness, honesty, high visibility, and the ability and capacity to listen.

A one-day conference organised by the University of Essex and the Consortium of Therapeutic Communities, 10 December, 2021 with the theme, “The Unconscious and Organisations”. Presentations and discussions throughout the conference had the aim of generating ideas and sharing knowledge about the unconscious and how this can inform practitioners working in therapeutic communities and other organisations meeting the challenge of emotional distress.

Interview with Professor Robert (Bob) Hinshelwood (RH), now 83 years old, who has been involved in therapeutic communities (TCs) since 1969, part of the initial founding of the Association of Therapeutic Communities in 1974, is presented. He qualified as a psychoanalyst in 1976. In 1980 he instigated the founding of the International Journal of Therapeutic Communities along with Nick Manning, David Kennard, Jeff Roberts and Barry Shenkar. In 1984 he founded the British Journal of Psychotherapy, and edited it for 10 years. He was Director of the Cassel Hospital 1993–1997. In 1999 he founded the journal Psychoanalysis and History. He was part of the Free Associations Group (founded by Bob Young and others) which ran the journal Free Associations, and with Mike Rustin and the University of East London, the “Psychoanalysis and Public Sphere” conferences in the 1990s. He has written a great deal about the dynamics of organisational cultures in complex settings. He is Fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society, Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Professor Emeritus of the University of Essex. The interviewer was conducted by Dr Gary Winship (GW) is an associate professor at the University of Nottingham where he leads the MA in Trauma Informed Practice, visiting professor Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, and also visiting professor at the Russian State Humanities University, editor of the International Journal of Therapeutic Communities.

Hinshelwood reflects on the question of the unconscious and the impact of destructive tendencies on organisational process. He shares his personal experience being a young evacuee during the Second World War and considers the impact of trauma, losing his religion and his subsequent career choices in medicine, psychiatry and psychoanalysis. He discusses his experience of supervision with Isabel Menzies Lyth and reflects on the different groups in the Institute of Psychoanalysis. He turns to the question tribalism in TCs and regrets that there had not been more bridge building and collaboration. He talks about his own prolific writing and publishing career which he describes as obsessional rather than passionate, and finally candidly reflects on the prospect of facing death.

The interview was transcribed.

“Healthy public policy” in tobacco control is essential to support other efforts to reduce smoking prevalence, especially among the young. The government of Guernsey in the Channel Islands has recently agreed to implement a comprehensive and integrated package of measures intended to make tobacco smoking less acceptable, less accessible and less affordable to young people. Such measures include raising the legal age of purchase, a substantial price rise over a period of years, a total ban on local tobacco advertising and specially funded initiatives in health education and promotion. Summarizes the process and barriers to achieving “Healthy public policy” in tobacco control.

Is there an issue at all? Shouldn't international library cooperative professionalism ensure that all requests from whatever source be processed? And besides, talk of restrictions invokes bad memories of sad Czech librarians deprived of humanities serials, and causes panic amongst African users of loaned British apple‐tree pruning manuals. Many of these knee‐jerk reactions, while understandable, are hypocritical if they appeal to traditions of pure library altruism: whenever has librarianship been altruistic? Inter‐library loans go only to those who can afford to pay the high charges; the Third World does not get free loans, and is further haunted by Western copyright laws. The fights in Western countries against censorship and for freedom of information are causes which have political contexts, not pure Minervan origins in the forehead of the library profession. Cooperation with South Africa also has a political context, and librarians do not have diplomatic immunity.

To provide a concise briefing on the use of storytelling as a business tool in organizations.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds his own impartial comments and places the argument in context.

Denning became converted to the effectiveness of storytelling as a business tool after witnessing its goals achieved in practice. He warns, however, against a “one size fits all” approach, recommending instead adopting different styles in different situations and asking if the intention is, for instance, to spur action or to transfer knowledge. Gold and Holman's study is a thorough, and consequently lengthy, consideration of an experientially based personal development module on a management diploma that was redesigned according to social constructionist ideas about learning and managerial activity. Parkin's article gives an intriguing insight into how offering information and instruction in the form of a story enables the brain to make us feel more relaxed, as opposed to feeling threatened by change with a consequent decline in the capacity for creative thinking.

Provides plenty of useful guidance to human‐resource and training specialists considering the introduction of storytelling in their organizations.

Provides some useful information on the use of storytelling as a business tool in organizations.

This article aims to explore dimensions and tensions in the relationship between theory (usually produced by academics) and practice (the domain, normally of practitioners) in human resource development (HRD).

The paper examines, from a conceptual perspective, the nature of mode 2 research, where knowledge is generated in the context of multi‐stakeholder teams (academics and practitioners) that transcend the boundaries of traditional disciplines, working on problems to be found in working life.

Mode 2 research has been seen in dichotomous terms of theory versus practice, referred to in various ways such as: the research‐practice gap; the implementation gap; the research‐practice divide; and the theory‐practice void. This gap is also typified by mode 1 research, an approach which adopts the principles of “normal science” and which generates results, the main beneficiaries of which are the academic community. The authors forward mode 2 research as an approach that requires both academic rigour and practical relevance. The article presents and critically evaluates a number of examples of academic‐practitioner partnerships in action in order to highlight both the potential and the challenges for the development of mode 2 research. It also recommends strategies for the advancement of mode 2 research, including getting academics to attune themselves more closely with the needs of practitioners, encouraging academics to write for practitioner journals, and the use of the kinds of research methodologies that can generate richer stories and cases that resonate with practitioner interests. Practitioners, however, need research that has a practical focus and which can be applied immediately.

This is a conceptual paper that draws on secondary examples to support the authors' contentions, making it appropriate to gain further background information on bridging the gap between theory and practice.

The paper critically evaluates a number of examples of academic‐practitioner partnerships in action.

This paper provides an in‐depth analysis of the challenges of undertaking effective and robust practice‐based research, through articulating philosophical differences in research approaches and discussing tensions between academic and practitioner needs.

This chapter examines how opponents of same-sex marriage have used rights discourse to construct an identity of themselves as victims, and construct gays and lesbians as deviant “others.” I find that conservative rights discourse has been more effective outside the courtroom than in it. This is because these arguments rely on implicit discriminatory stereotypes which are frequently exposed under the scrutiny of dispassionate judicial actors. However, in a popular arena, they are free to operate with considerably less scrutiny. Here, rights discourse is used to mask discriminatory stereotypes and lend legitimacy to positions that would be rejected if made explicitly.

Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to be as comprehensive as possible about what is known about mirror neurons at this time.

Design/methodology/approach – This chapter offers a comprehensive critique including Churchland's hesitations about findings on mirror neurons (2011) which are balanced by Ramachandran's conviction that much of the research on mirror neurons is valid (2011). Following this is a summary of the results of the Mirror Neuron Forum (2011) wherein leading mirror neuron researchers exchange their views and conclusions about this subject.

Findings – The few single cells measures that we have show that they are much wider distributed throughout the brain than we have previously imagined. It should be stressed that single measures of mirror neurons have occurred albeit in limited situations. This establishes once and for all their relevance to humans.

Originality/value – The work on mirror neurons is a critical contribution from neuroscience to bringing the social brain into sociology and refining our understandings of intersubjectivity and of our biologically driven connections with others.