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The use of information technology in banks from the earliest use of mainframe computers to the latest developments is summarised. In an environment in which government has encouraged competition, technology enables newcomers in the financial sector to compete with the banks while the banks become more dependent on technology to remain competitive. The effects of technology and competition are inseparable. The effect on employment, organisation and managerial and professional positions is examined and the importance of learning from the experience of manufacturing industries of the interaction between people and machines in a “socio‐technical” system is emphasised.

Introduction To perform their jobs effectively, employees obviously need certain essential information. Part of this information is job related, whilst other information is about general terms and conditions of employment. Some will be given as part of the recruitment process whilst the rest will — or at least should — be given during the induction programme and during specific job training. In addition, there is a whole range of information which cannot be said to be essential to specific job performance but which is increasingly communicated to employees and their representatives as part of the process of improving motivation and increasing understanding of the business. In the United Kingdom, there is also a statutory duty on an employer to disclose certain information to trade union representatives without which they “would be to a material extent impeded in…collective bargaining”.

When there is so much concern today for greater productivity in the private sector and for increased effectiveness in the public sector, it should be patently clear that the training function is being forced into a shape up or ship out situation.

Charlotte Brontë integrated her own and her sisters' traumatic boarding school experiences into her novel, Jane Eyre (1847) as a way of expressing her anger through autobiographical fiction. The aim is to link contemporary research into boarding school trauma to the relevant events, thereby identifying what she wrote as a testimony contributing to the long history of the problematic nature of boarding schools.

Autobiographical fiction is discussed as a form of testimony, placing Jane Eyre in that category. Recent research into the traumatic experiences of those whose parents chose to send them to boarding school is presented, leading to an argument that educational historians need to analyse experience rather than limiting their work to structure and planning. The traumatic events the Brontë sisters experienced at the Clergy Daughters' School are outlined as the basis for what is included in Jane Eyre at the fictional Lowood School. Specific traumatic events in the novel are then identified and contemporary research into boarding school trauma applied.

The findings reveal Charlotte's remarkable insight into the psychological impact on children being sent away to board at a time when understandings about trauma and boarding school trauma did not exist. An outcome of the analysis is that it places the novel within the field of the history of education as a testimony of boarding school life.

This is the first application of boarding school trauma research to the novel.

The purpose of this article is to assess the impact of recent changes to out‐of‐hours primary care services.

The changes to out‐of‐hours primary care services since the introduction of the new GP contract in 2004 are considered. A recent survey of out‐of‐hours providers helps to give a view of how these organisations have diversified. An analysis of recent claims and complaints handled by the Medical Protection Society highlights the risks of this new approach.

There have been significant changes in the way that out‐of‐hours care is delivered and this has led to a number of emerging risks. In particular, problems with communication skills are the most frequently occurring factor in out‐of‐hours incidents.

Quality standards currently focus on working practices, rather than soft skills such as communication. Training for out‐of‐hours providers in these skills is essential, particularly where children are concerned.

The paper highlights the areas of risk which contribute to substandard out‐of‐hours care.

More research is needed to consider residents’ perceptions prior to hosting large-scale events. This paper contributes new insight on residents’ perceptions of placemaking analysed by considering awareness, enthusiasm and participation prior to hosting a large-scale event. Placemaking is becoming increasingly important and this insight can help planners understand how locals perceive change and event planning preparations.

454 residents of Rijeka, Croatia completed a survey (seven-point Likert scale) of 17 placemaking principles, asked in three ways: (1) how you feel; (2) how you believe people near you feel and (3) if you feel that planning/preparing for ECoC 2020 has made a difference. The data analysis considers socio-demographics and the significance of awareness, enthusiasm and participation as factors affecting residents’ perceptions of placemaking.

The study found respondents originally from Rijeka expressed statistically significant higher level of agreement. Where statistically significant differences exist, female respondents expressed statistically significant higher levels of agreement. For six statements, the distribution of results was not similar for all age groups. Awareness and enthusiasm seems to influence placemaking principles to a greater extent than participation in this study, but all have proven to have statistically significant positive impacts on the placemaking principles assessed.

Planners need to focus on effective promotional activities aimed at awareness and enhance enthusiasm to help increase perceptions of placemaking and increase local quality of life.

explores perceptions of “self” and “how others feel” by assessing principles of placemaking associated with the case of Rijeka. This allows researchers to explore understandings of how people perceive the attitudes of their fellow residents.