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States that international companies must consider the cultural differences between countries or risk serious and expensive problems. Uses real‐life examples to examine mis‐understanding and failed communication in global business. Describes how such problems can be identified and anticipated. Observes that many companies now accept the need for intercultural management as a fact of life.

The Recovery College model is an innovative approach to providing education to consumers, carers and mental health staff, with the potential to facilitate both personal recovery gains and organisational transformation towards recovery-focused service provision. The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of students who attended the South Eastern Sydney Recovery College (SESRC).

An exploratory, descriptive qualitative design was employed with data collected through seven focus group interviews with consumers and mental health staff who had participated in courses run by the SESRC. Thematic analysis of the data was conducted using both deductive and inductive processes in order to interpret the data.

All participants were positive about their involvement in the RC. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis: connection with others, hope for the future, the importance of the lived experience, and changing attitudes and systems.

The outcomes of this study indicate that the SESRC is achieving its aims in relation to both personal recovery gains, and the potential to impact on service transformation. It highlights the centrality of co-production as a fundamental aspect of the Recovery College model. This paper contributes to the emerging evidence base for this model and provides evidence that this model is applicable to the Australian context.

Inter-organisational collaboration (IOC) across healthcare settings has been put forward as a solution to mounting financial and sustainability challenges. Whilst ingredients for successful IOC have been explored, there remains limited understanding of the development of IOCs over time.

The authors systematically reviewed the literature to identify models applied to IOCs in healthcare across databases such as Healthcare Management Information Consortium (HMIC) and MEDLINE, identifying 2,763 titles and abstracts with 26 final papers included. The authors then used a “best fit” framework synthesis methodology to synthesise fourteen models of IOC in healthcare and the wider public sector to formulate an applied composite model describing the process through which collaborations change over time. This synthesis comprised extracting stages and behaviours from included models, selecting an a priori framework upon which to code these stages and behaviours and then re-coding them to construct a new composite model.

Existing models often did not consider that organisations may undergo many IOCs in the organisations' lifetime nor included “contemplation” stages or those analogous to “dissolution”, which might negatively impact papers using such models. The formulated' composite model utilises a life-cycle design comprising five non-linear phases, namely Contemplating, Connecting, Planning, Implementation and Maintenance or Dissolution and incorporates dynamic elements from Complex Adaptive Systems thinking to reflect the dynamic nature of collaborations.

This is the first purpose-built model of the lifecycles of IOCs in healthcare. The model is intended to inform implementers, evaluators and researchers of IOCs alike.

In July of 2001, with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign undertook a project to test the efficacy of using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting to construct a search and discovery service focused on information resources in the domain of cultural heritage. To date, the Illinois project has indexed over two million Dublin Core metadata records contributed by 39 metadata repositories in the museum, academic library, and digital library project communities. These records describe a mix of digital and analog primary content. Our analysis of these metadata records demonstrates wide divergence in descriptive metadata practices and the use and interpretation of Dublin Core metadata elements. Differences are particularly notable by community. This article provides an overview of the Illinois project, presents quantitative data about divergent metadata practices and element usage patterns, and details implications for metadata providers and harvesting services.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of paper bills and statements in online and mobile banking and how they may serve to support trust along with mitigating distrust for consumers when dealing with banks and billing firms.

A two-phase study with 208 Canadian online bill payers. Phase 1 verified the comprehension of the measurement items being tested. In Phase 2, exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the factor structure. Regression analysis was used to identify the relationship of the factors with the intention to continuing receiving paper bills.

Four factors for trust and distrust were identified in this study of which two (structural assurance and counted on to help) plus subjective norm predict the intention to continue receiving paper bills.

Trust and distrust are shown to co-exist in this study. Consumers feel vulnerable to the risks inherent in online financial interactions, but signal their willingness to trust by adopting online and mobile banking. Consumers mitigate the distrust they have in banks and billing firms by continuing to receive paper bills and statements. This study is limited to paper bills and statements. The role of other paper documents in customer relationship management is worthy of further exploration.

This research investigates the role of financial documents in the consumer-firm relationship. This study suggests that paper bills are a communication method that supports consumers’ trust in the banks and billing firms and their adoption of online and mobile banking. Banks and billing firms’ continued emphasis on consumers’ giving up paper bills while insisting on original paper documentation in problem resolution situations, sends mixed messages to consumers, which heightens their distrust in these firms.

This is the first study to suggest that paper bills and statements have a role in influencing trust or distrust of banks and billing firms.