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David Logan, a former deputy president of the NUS and now at the Institute of Education, examines the work of the select committee.

The image of Mel Gibson and Hugh Jackman (as Wolverine) in the Mad Max and X-Men franchises represents traditional heroic action masculinity. This chapter explores the roles of female action heroes in defying patriarchy and subverting action film genre stereotypes in male-dominated franchises. In contrast to past characterisations of Max, Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) provides both a departure to the role of Max as the male saviour seeking vengeance, by focusing on Imperator Furiosa and offering space for a portrayal of femininity characterised by inclusivity and tolerance. In Logan (2017), the decay of Wolverine is central to the narrative. Rather than the portrayal of an immortal hypermasculine hero in the previous X-Men films (with emphasis on men in X-Men), a new female mutant Laura assumes his mantle. In this context, I consider the gender roles and depiction of women in these films, and how they may be read as offering a futuristic vision of utopia in dystopian narrative worlds.

In the distant future, the social and economic systems build by the patriarchy are crumbling, causing an environmental crisis and divisive society, where people who are different (mutants) are hunted down. Mad Max: Fury Road and Logan both offer an alternative depiction of women and girls, providing new perspectives to navigate an uncertain dystopian world through fierce female warriors Furiosa, and mutant girl Laura. Ultimately this chapter demonstrates that survival in the post-apocalyptic and dystopian worlds represented in Mad Max: Fury Road and Logan may be achieved via a subversive feminist solution/utopia to the crisis of masculinity.

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.

The fact that a management training course is run on an in‐company basis rather than outside the organization does not guarantee that any of the learning acquired by course members will automatically be transferred back into the trainee's work situation. While many companies are prepared to devote considerable resources to helping their staff acquire new skills and knowledge, they frequently neglect to assist them in aplying this new learning back into their work. Frequently, disappointed with the low levels of learning transfer from traditional courses, many firms have reverted to work‐oriented, project‐based types of training programmes in the hope of ensuring that at least some of the training effort is translated back into improved trainee performance. However, in many cases the subject matter of the training may make it unsuited to this approach. Alternatively, an organization may wish to retain its existing in‐company training scheme, but would like to improve it in some way so as to enhance the likelihood of staff changing their work behaviour in the direction intended by the course.

A paucity of literature considers a growing trend within the retail space whereby franchise companies and their franchisees market and sell products and services across multiple channels, including company‐owned retail stores. This case study aims to explore the processes used to support the customer experience, the control mechanisms that are in place, and the channels by which these customer‐company interactions occur.

A qualitative approach employing an adaptation of the grounded theory method for data collection, coding, and analysis was used and this study specifically focused on an international van‐based service franchise during the integration of the franchise company's service into the retail brick‐and‐mortar locations of the parent company. Participants included retail employees of the parent company, franchise company support staff, franchisees, and third‐party call center agents working for the parent company.

Findings suggest a relationship exists between the alignment of the internal factors of the customer relationship management (CRM) experience (e.g. people, processes, and technology) and the relative strength or weakness of each external factor (e.g. customer, company, and competition). Moreover, it is postulated that weaker customer‐centric service results in greater misalignment of internal factors and leads to larger service variability, or sub‐optimized CRM.

The unique contribution of this research is the juxtaposition of the disparate marketing approaches of the parent company and franchisees and the subsequent impact on CRM efforts of the company. A conceptual model of internal and external factors of the CRM experience is presented.

A paucity of research on the motivations and goals of vendors who develop electronic customer relationship management (eCRM) tools and systems exists in the literature. This is an important gap in the literature because many eCRM systems are products of outsourcing (to vendors). This paper aims to discuss these issues.

This exploratory case study focuses on an international van‐based service franchise and the experiences of the vendor, company, and franchisees as they design, develop, and implement certain eCRM tools. Participants include the president and founder of the eCRM vendor company, the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and marketing director from the franchisor company, and six franchisees. This paper is triangulated via personal interviews, member‐checking interviews, and relevant literature from information systems (IS) and marketing.

Specifically, this paper sheds light on the role and influence of the vendor in the design, development, and delivery of eCRM tools. Managerial implications include: customer relationship management (CRM) requires a balance of online and offline activities; vendors may distort the balance between online and offline marketing efforts; and strategic policy should center on the priorities of the franchisor, franchisees, and end customers.

This paper fulfills an identified knowledge gap by capturing the “voice” of the vendor who has historically been overlooked in the literature. The research insights are particularly salient for company managers and marketing practitioners alike. Study limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

ACCORDING TO A PAMPHLET produced by the Scottish Education Department, called Education in Scotland, some facts and figures, ‘The general aim (of secondary schools) throughout is to provide an education adapted at each stage to the developing needs of each boy or girl which will fit them on leaving school to pursue further education either full‐time or part‐time’. Which probably accounts for the enormous building activity in Glasgow's FE sector. Almost every FE college in the city is due for either new buildings or expansion to meet the ever‐growing number of entrants. One such college is the College of Commerce in the centre of Glasgow. The college started in new buildings in 1962 and had a new annexe opened in 1966 with 40 classrooms in it. A new college is planned for about 1970 and these existing buildings will be devoted entirely to distributive trades and hairdressing.

Outlines preliminary results from a survey into retail security methods employed by retailers in central Dundee, and forms part of ongoing research into retail crime in this city being undertaken on a joint basis by the University of Abertay Dundee, and Tayside Police. Considers it to be the first survey of this type undertaken at such a local level in the UK. Concentrates on the types of physical and procedural security method employed, their perceived effectiveness from a managerial viewpoint, and which of the alternative security methods retail managers would utilize if they were given a free choice by their employers.