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Universities constantly try to balance the need to be seen as research institutions contributing new knowledge to society with the need to be seen as effective teaching institutions. This article describes one way in which the two requirements have been effectively resolved in teaching short courses to non‐university students. The methodology incorporated students and research teams, thus drawing on the strengths of both. The result is enhanced student participation and motivation, greater access to data and new insights for the faculty members. The paper concludes by describing other applications of such an approach.

Positioned at the nexus of import/export flows, customs authorities represent a significant node in a firm's global supply chain network. In light of the traditional need for physical inspection of goods by customs authorities, the significance of this node is often viewed in terms of its potential disruption to the network flow. Customs reforms that aim to facilitate the international flow of goods (trade facilitation) are thus easily regarded as measures to reduce the supply chain inefficiencies of these disruptions. The readiness with which the resulting improvements can be envisioned and have been cited contrasts sharply with the limited research into the corresponding potential challenges involved in global logistics management. This paper's primary purpose is to deduce the nature of these challenges, not only for practice in the area of global logistics, but also for research in that area, an area in which the significance of customs authorities has received little treatment. Systematic qualitative analyses of existing and proposed reforms based on the trade facilitation philosophy provide the bases for the deductions.

Maintaining efficiency in despatching goods from a depot to geographically dispersed customers may require management at the depot to adjust its delivery routes daily if these customers’ demands fluctuate from day to day. One type of adjustment is to give drivers daily “skip lists” instructing them not to visit customers who have indicated that they do not need delivery on the day in question. This adjustment, which is appropriately referred to as semi‐variable routes, increases the depot’s outbound logistics productivity by eliminating some unnecessary travelling. Using extensive experimental data, develops a regression model that efficiently and accurately estimates this productivity increase, and illustrates how spreadsheets can be used as a decision support medium for using the model in pedagogical and applied settings. Confirms the model’s validity by standard model validation tests as well as by comparison with an existing model from previous research.

Any firm participating in external (or inter‐firm) benchmarking anticipates at least two benefits: useful statistics on how it performs relative to the other participating firms; and guidance in identifying promising performance improvement actions. Using data from a five‐year benchmarking program for firms engaged in import operations, this research illustrates how these benefits might be assured. A major recommendation of the research is that, along with formal analysis of quantitative data, the structure of ongoing inter‐firm benchmarking programs must facilitate the firms’ receipt of information that enhances the realization of these benefits. This is likely to improve such programs along the dimensions of data gathering efficiency, data quality, and hence the usefulness of benchmarking to participating firms.

This article explores the cultural politics of civic pride through Hull's year as UK City of Culture (UKCoC) in 2017. It unpicks some of the socio-political meanings and values of civic pride in Hull and critiques the ways in which pride, as an indicator of identity and belonging, was mobilised by UKCoC organisers, funders and city leaders. It argues for more nuanced and critical approaches to the consideration and evaluation of pride through cultural mega events (CMEs) that can take account of pride's multiple forms, meanings and temporalities.

A multidimensional, mixed methods approach is taken, incorporating the critical analysis of Hull2017 promotional materials and events and original interviews with a range of stakeholders.

The desire for socio-economic change and renewed identity has dominated Hull's post-industrial sense of self and is often expressed through the language of pride. This article argues that UKCoC organisers, cognisant of this, crafted and tightly controlled a singular pride narrative to create the feeling of change and legitimise the entrepreneurial re-branding of the city. At the same time, UKCoC organisers overlooked the opportunity to engage with and potentially reactivate the political culture of Hull, which like other “left behind” or “structurally disadvantaged” places, is becoming increasingly anti-political.

Through the case study of a relatively unresearched and under-represented city, this paper contributes to cultural policy literatures concerned with critically assessing the benefits and shortcomings of Cultural Mega Events and to a more specific field concerning Cities of Culture and the political cultures of their host cities. This paper also contributes to an emerging literature on the centrality of pride through the UK's post-Brexit Levelling Up agenda, suggesting that pride in place is becoming figured as a “universal theme” of the neoliberal city script.

A full Edgeworth cycle of deposit rate is divided into two phases: an “overcutting cycle” in which the banks battle for deposits, and a “relenting cycle” in which the banks cease battling and instead choose to restore a temporarily low deposit rate. Such strategies have two testable implications on overall market movements. First, deposit rate decreases are more likely to be initiated when the deposit rate is near the upper bound of a cycle. Second, deposit rate decreases are more sensitive than increases to market interest rate changes. This chapter empirically confirms this pattern and shows strong evidence for the presence of Edgeworth cycles in deposit rates after Hong Kong’s interest rate deregulation.

To examine the governance network in Northamptonshire, an area awarded the status of the most enterprising place in Britain in 2012.

A combination of original interviews and documentary analysis to track the development of governance across two place-based initiatives.

Governance and leadership efforts were hindered by three factors prior to 2010; geographical, issues of legitimacy and a lack of stimulus for action in a successful economy. Changes since the General Election have enabled the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to overcome the first of these but work on the other two is ongoing.

The research has been conducted in the early stages of the LEP’s work and more time is needed to see if the progress made to date translates into a meaningful role.

Place-based strategies need to be based around pre-agreed territorial boundaries. In addition development agencies need to be able to demonstrate competency in order to be seen as legitimate actors.

The chapter offers an insight into establishing governance and leadership in an already successful economy. Most papers in this area either examine deprived areas or areas where governance is key to the success.

This chapter considers the environmental damage related to Ireland’s recent ‘ghost estates’, placing this disastrous waste of resources in the long historical context of ancient ruins that also dot the land.

It considers ruins from an ecocritical perspective, as material artefacts attesting directly to people’s relationship with their environment.

From ancient megaliths and sacred sites to imposing castles, Ireland’s impressive ruins ignite romantic reflections in many. Yet, just like the modern ruins of ghost estates, they also tell of an often oppressive relationship between human cultures and the natural environment. Ironically perhaps, stone circles and tombs that seem to speak of people living in much closer relation to non-human nature than we moderns do are also associated with the environmental scourge of deforestation. Yet, they at least stand testament to an ethic of timelessness and robust building, as well as resistance to a seemingly irresistible process of capitalistic modernisation; the recent ruins are devoid of such ethical commitments. Given this, however, creative responses should also be noted to the logic of the ghost estates, including Cloughjordan’s Ecovillage and the NamaLab project.

Three sets of responses that all work more realistically with a recognition of the limits of sustainable development are considered in the conclusion: Transition Towns, an Ecovillage and architectural reutilisation of defunct buildings.