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Of all first generation automated storage and retrieval (AS/R) systems installed in libraries in the United States, the most complex and ambitious installation was at the Health Sciences Library at Ohio State University. The system was designed to have twelve aisles, but only eight were installed, along with four calling stations/circulation desks located at both ends of the machine on each of two floors of the library. The system, which originally cost $811,799, required constant maintenance resulting in expenditures of $889,191 through June 1990, plus $139,575 for conversion/renovation of the system in recent years. In 1989, the university made the decision to remove the Randtriever in conjunction with anticipated expansion and renovation of the library. A sidebar by Eric Jayjohn compares the Rand‐triever with contemporary AS/R technology.

In February 1991, OCLC began testing its newly developed product—the FirstSearch™ Catalog. Designed distinctly for the end‐user, FirstSearch is an online computer system providing access to a variety of databases, most notably the OCLC Online Union Catalog. By October 1991, the system was made commercially available to all OCLC member libraries with a pricing structure different from any previously marketed system. As a test site, the Ohio State University has had experience with the system for several months, and has now made the transition from test site to customer.

Since their public debuts in the 1960s, thousands of automated storage and retrieval (AS/R) systems have been installed in industrial settings across the United States and Western Europe. These units provide secure, controlled storage and rapid retrieval for inventories that range from computer components to major sub‐assemblies for fighter aircraft. However, until the current installation of an AS/R at California State University, Northridge, only four previous installations were made in the United States and one in Europe. All these earlier systems experienced serious problems, resulting in their removal at three libraries in the U.S., with the remaining U.S. site currently planning to remove its system. These failures have conditioned librarians to avoid such systems, despite significant differences in contemporary technology. Kountz describes the early systems and analyzes what went wrong with them, and why.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the level of compliance with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Track and Field Hammer Facility Recommendations at Division I universities in the USA, and to determine factors related to perceptions of facility safety.

A 35‐item survey instrument was distributed to 279 applicable schools with a 28 percent response rate. Multiple regression analysis was utilized to determine factors significantly related to overall perception of safety.

A total of 78.1 percent participants in the study report compliance with the NCAA minimum recommendations and 38 percent also meet the IAAF standards. Analysis of the perceived safety reported by coaches reveal a significant prediction equation. Further analyses reveal significant risk involving some current facilities guidelines.

The NCAA may need to examine their present hammer facility guidelines and consider alignment with the new standards of the IAAF.

The paper creates a new application of statistical analyses for risk perception in a specific sport setting.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the workplace experiences and access to career-enhancing opportunities of transgender employees and to apprise organization leaders of opportunities to create an all-inclusive workplace environment.

This phenomenological study used semi-structured interviews with transgender and gender non-conforming individuals in the US. Study participants (n = 12) varied slightly in racial and ethnic identities, the highest level of formal education completed and the industry sector they were employed at the time of interviews.

The data reveals a lingering presence of dominant narrative (cissexism) in US organizations and its adverse impact on workplace experience and access to career-enhancing opportunities of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. The participants’ narratives reveal recommendations for effective organizational practices for a transgender-inclusive workplace.

The challenge of recruiting qualified participants from the marginalized group along with the selection criteria of English proficiency and legally adult age resulted in a relatively limited sample (n = 12) nevertheless adequate for the study.

Results of this study point at the urgent need to increase visibility and acceptance of the represented population and expand workplace diversity policies to create inclusive, just and equitable organizations for all individuals that will translate into job satisfaction and improved productivity.

This study contributes to developing a culture of inclusion and prevention of discrimination in the workplace thus ensuring respect, safety and agency for gender minority employees.

This study contributes to a better understanding of workplace experiences, access to career-enhancing opportunities of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals and best practices for a transgender-inclusive workplace.

The USA is witnessing a conflict between LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) consumers/supporters and Christian fundamentalist service providers/opponents regarding whether service can be denied based on religious values. The purpose of this paper is to make a timely investigation into this conflict between marketplace inclusion (for LGBTQ consumers) and freedom of religion (for religious service providers).

The intersection of marketplace inclusion for LGBTQ consumers and religious freedom for service providers is examined by identifying appropriate strategies that address this conflict and reviewing how differing religious perspectives influence perceptions of LGBTQ consumer rights, all building off the social identity threat literature.

LGBTQ and religious identities often conflict to influence consumer behavior and service provider interactions. Such conflict is heightened when there is a lack of substitutes (i.e. only one service provider in an area for a specific service). Common LGBTQ consumer responses include changing service providers, providing justification for the provision of services and pursing legal recourse. Suggested strategies to address this conflict include highlighting common social identities and using two-sided messages for service providers, using in-group interventions for social groups and using government interventions for public policy.

Research has yet to examine the conflict between marketplace inclusion and religious freedom, particularly for the inclusion of LGBTQ consumers. Thus, this paper provides a novel conceptual model detailing these relationships to stimulate discussion among consumers, service providers, social groups and public policy in addition to serving as a foundation for future research.

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, propositions in an existing conceptual framework are empirically explored to note whether and how brand meaning gaps exist for internal and external stakeholders of a focal brand. Second, a typology of brand meaning gaps, characterised by meaning assonance and valence, offers new insight for brand management strategy.

The authors use case study methods to explore the research propositions about brand meaning gaps among stakeholder groups. The focal firm is The Black Dog Company of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts in the USA. Data from brand owners (internal stakeholders) and consumers (external stakeholders) are collected using in-depth interviews, observation, document analysis, and an online survey that includes a picture association task. Further inductive analysis of secondary data helps develop the typology of brand meaning gaps and dynamics.

The research propositions are supported. Brand meaning gaps exist between internal and external stakeholders, and they exist among two external stakeholder groups. Brand meaning for owners, primarily defined as family heritage, is largely unknown to consumers. Among consumers, brand meaning for stakeholder group 1 is “coastal New England”; brand meaning for group 2 is “dog lovers.” Although multiple brand meanings exist for stakeholders, the meanings are relatively assonant (harmonious) and positively valenced. The findings regarding the polysemic nature of brand meaning are useful to brand managers seeking to leverage offerings to multiple target markets. These findings, along with additional secondary data, serve as the basis for a typology of brand gaps and dynamics characterized by assonance and valence. Four types of meaning gaps may lead to situations where brands are beloved, on-the-cusp, hijacked, or facing disaster.

This work addresses calls from the literature to empirically explore brand meaning among multiple stakeholder groups.

This article provides a new definition for case study research. Achieving deep understanding of processes and other concept variables (e.g. actors’ perceptions of their own thinking processes, intentions and contextual influences) is identified as the principal objective of case study research. Using multiple methods to “triangulate” (i.e. confirm and deepen understanding by using multiple sources all focusing on the same process/event) within the same case is described. The article outlines the core criticisms made by case study researchers of large sample surveys. A need exists for a paradigm shift in research on organizational behavior (including modeling the antecedents of new product performance). The article outlines the telling weaknesses of case study research as seen by other researchers. The article examines Senge’s core propositions related to the “mental models” of decision participants. Details illustrate the use of specific research methods for case studies to achieve different research objectives and the combination of objectives. Finally, the article illustrates basic concept variables in a case study and 12 propositions are reviewed briefly. This report reviews classic and recent contributions in the literature on case study research.

This chapter explores the development of middle leaders in the specific context of Catholic schools. It considers the interplay between contemporary thinking on educational leadership and the insights of Catholic theology and ministry. Two key themes foundational to this interplay are examined: the connection between leading and following, and the central importance of relationships for leadership. For each of these themes, the reader is provided with related questions for middle leaders in a Catholic school context, an activity for engaging with leaders, and an exercise inviting middle school leaders to reflect on their own experience and the context within which they lead.

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the interplay between selected consumer behavior constructs and their individual and joint influences on purchase intentions of global, local, and hybrid brands. This is a topic that is becoming increasingly important as the world moves toward global economic interdependence and increasingly more firms expand abroad.

As the paper is in its conceptual/modeling phase, its research design is not yet complete, nor does it offer any findings. Resting our work on attitude and identity theories, we derive hypotheses about the potential influence of consumer behavior constructs, that is, the levels of the consumer’s global consumption orientation, globalization attitude, consumer ethnocentrism, and consumer cosmopolitanism on global brand attitude and its influence on willingness to purchase global versus nonglobal brands. We also derive hypotheses about influences that might moderate this relationship; specifically the consumer’s affinity with the home country of the particular brand, and the perceived value embedded in the brand.

Our work will contribute to the expanding literature on global consumer culture and consumption patterns and will thus provide valuable insights for international marketing managers and for social policy.

Our work will examine the joint influences of several consumer behavior constructs on brand purchase behavior, in addition to the independent influences of these constructs. It will also explore the possible mediating influence of global brand attitude on purchase intentions and moderating effects, if any, of perceived value and consumer affinity on consumers’ choices of global over local and hybrid brands.