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Universities globally have faced the introduction of research performance assessment systems that provide monetary and ranking rewards based on publication outputs. This study aims to seek an understanding of the implementation of performance-based research funding (PBRF) and its impact on the heads of departments (HoDs) and accounting academics in New Zealand (NZ) tertiary institutions. The study explores NZ accounting academics’ experiences and their workload; the relationship between teaching and research in the accounting discipline and any issues and concerns affecting new and emerging accounting researchers because of PBRF.

Applying an institutional theoretical lens, this paper explores accounting HoDs’ perceptions concerning the PBRF system’s impact on their academic staff. The research used semi-structured interviews to collect data from NZ’s eight universities.

The key findings posit that many institutional processes, some more coercive in nature, whereas others were normative and mimetic, have been put in place to ensure that academics are able to meet the PBRF requirements. HoDs suggest that their staff understand the importance of research, but that PBRF is a challenge to new and emerging researchers and pose threats to their recruitment. New academics must “hit the ground running” as they must demonstrate not only teaching abilities but also already have a track record of research publications; all in all, a daunting experience for new academics to overcome. There is also a teaching and research disconnect. Furthermore, many areas where improvements can be made in the design of this measurement tool remain.

The PBRF system has significantly impacted on accounting academics. Central university research systems were established that subsequently applied coercive institutional pressures onto line managers to ensure that their staff performed. This finding offers scope for future research to explore a better PBRF that measures and rewards research productivity but without the current system’s unintended negative consequences.

The study maps workplace stakeholders’ perceptions of living wage (LW) impacts in New Zealand. Empirical findings inform an inaugural model of LW impacts and contingent factors at individual, organisation, sector/industry and national levels.

Data from a national employee survey, semi-structured interviews with business sector representatives, and staff in two LW organisation cases were subjected to thematic content analysis.

Informants emphasised anticipated LW impacts amid complex workplace and regulatory dynamics. Employers/managers stressed its cost effects. However, employees, human resource (HR) advocates and other LW proponents highlighted employee “investment” impacts that improve worker productivity and societal circumstances.

This study highlights the need for further context-sensitive LW analysis. An initial model of LW impacts provides a framework for comparative and longitudinal work in other national contexts.

The proposed model categorises perceived LW effects and can inform policy development. Findings also stress a need for cross-agency initiatives to address LW concerns, including a key role for HR.

The findings highlight perceptions of a LW impacting within and beyond the workplace. Whilst higher-quality management is seen to encourage better-informed decisions about “going living wage”, a LW's positive socio-economic impacts require multi-lateral initiatives, suggesting that those initiatives are is part of wider obligations for policy makers to encourage decent living standards.

This study provides a much-needed and inaugural focus on the intertwined workplace and wider impacts of a LW, extending extant econometric analyses. The paper also synthesizes different data sources to develop an inaugural, context-sensitive model of perceived LW effects.

The Further Education and Training (FET) sector is being positioned as a centrepiece of the government's post-pandemic recovery. However, issues of capacity and staff churn are threatening the potential success of this strategy. Unfortunately, there has been almost no strategic analysis of teacher churn in the English FET system or of the derivative issues of recruitment and retention, both of which jeopardise the sector's capacity to deliver high-quality teaching and improve workforce skills. This paper examines these issues for policymakers and sector leaders and makes suggestions on how these can be redressed. A call for a more joined-up FET sector is presented.

This is a follow-up paper to a report published by the Education and Training Foundation in 2022 on teacher recruitment in the English FET sector. This paper pulls together all of the most recent research on the English FET sector on teacher recruitment and retention and frames these against the DfE's Skills for Jobs policy commitments. It also analyses a number of proposed solutions, reflecting on their merits and potential consequences.

An updated profile of FET institutions within the college, private training and adult subsectors is offered, showing how the FET sector in England has been in steady decline, which is juxtaposed against the rhetoric of industrial productivity and economic renewal. Four variables, namely funding, institutional numbers, staffing and learner numbers are examined to explore this disparity. A more in-depth analysis of recruitment and retention research follows, showing that pay, job insecurity and status are the factors influencing the decision to start an FET career. Strategies for remedying the “crisis” are assessed, including the role of national campaigns and professional bodies.

The first point for any research programme is to draw together the research data and themes that have been previously discussed in order to build a platform for future investigation, which is what this paper does. There are clear steers on where future research might be located: staff well-being, professional status, recruitment methods and what is meant by an FET career. These are factors that affect the desirability of FET work and the sector's ability to recruit high-quality candidates. The consequences of not doing this research is the likely continuation of the status quo, which is unsustainable for the FET sector and potentially catastrophic to UK productivity.

Policymakers and sector leaders are presented with analysis and advice on the impact of teacher shortages and the factors that contribute to this. The evidence to support these factors is explored and solutions discussed in light of this evidence. A research agenda is suggested including an appeal for professional organisations and FET stakeholders to work together to solve the recruitment and retention crisis. The power of research to enlighten and inform is one of several conclusions proposed.

Addressing the factors that corrode staff professionalism and increase teacher attrition is an essential component of a wider discourse to improve the desirability of an FET career. Issues of status and esteem are interwoven in this analysis, as are the implications of not recruiting talented teachers and assessors. This includes staff well-being – a rare topic in FET journal papers – as well as organisational culture and importance of the FET mission, which is considered to be embedded in an ethic of public service. This mission is linked via the Augur Report to the sector's transformational properties to raise social mobility.

There is no precedent for this paper. It is the first article that has provided a comprehensive examination of teacher recruitment and retention issues affecting the whole FET sector in England. Whilst its comparative analysis builds on the Education and Training Foundation (2022) earlier report, it uniquely draws on other contemporary research that triangulates and discusses these findings, including setting out a new agenda for change and future research. In doing so, new issues are introduced for discussion including professional status and staff well-being.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss participatory action research with staff, residents and relatives contributed to the residents’ quality of life through the development of an inclusive praxis in a public nursing home in Denmark. The project addressed the residents’ reports about a lack of influence in their everyday lives.

The project used future-creating workshops as an important methodological tool. Theoretical concepts about developing a social reflexive and colletive morally obliging praxis were central to frame democratic learning and acting. The theoretical concepts of empowerment and capability were also applied. This paper will outline the methods and the results obtained.

Learning processes were initiated, enabling staff to respectfully engage in dialogue with residents and their relatives about their needs and wishes. The development of a democratic knowledge-building process was established based on the perspectives of the residents, relatives and staff. In conclusion, the project contributed to the development of a more reflective and democratic praxis focused on empowering the residents as the primary “stakeholders” in the daily life of the nursing home.

The research paper is based on the authors’ own research.

The hospitality industry is one of Ghana's key economic contributors. It is an industry that has significant indigenous investment. The sector also brings in foreign exchange for Ghana. In 2019, it generated $325 m through tourist visits. This makes the hospitality industry critical for the attraction of foreign direct investments. The research was therefore aimed at examining the business environment of the hospitality industry for evidence of negative factors that can hamper its greater contribution to the attainment of Goal 8 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN such as guest-bullying and the incivility in hospitality occupations.

A convenience sampling method was used to select 346 samples out of the accessible 3,500 targeted population from 38 hotels in the capital city of Ghana, Accra, comprising of junior to senior employees of various departments. The questionnaires were scripted from a paper-based to digital format supported by the Opine software installed on tablets and smartphones, to enable complete adherence to all coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) safety protocols. The study used a regression to ascertain the relationships between the dependent variables and the independent variables.

The study found the “Level of Permissiveness for Guests” positively and significantly “encouraged” guests to bully staff, while “Management and Staff Laxity” negatively but significantly explained guest bullying behaviour.

The study makes the first attempt in context to shed light on workplace bullying which represents one of the main factors that can inhibit or erode any gains or attempts to foster the achievement of Goal 8 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN which is to create “Decent Work and Economic Growth”.

This paper examines how the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digital developments in apprenticeship and work-based learning in higher education (HE), focusing on practices that have ongoing value.

A literature review was carried out on the theme of HE work-based and work-integrated learning during the pandemic, followed by minimally-structured interviews with UK university staff responsible for apprenticeship and other work-based programmes.

The pandemic has accelerated adoption of online and digital methods to support work-based and apprenticeship learning. There has been progress from emergency measures to more pedagogically consistent ones. A blended approach is becoming common, with the learning and logistical benefits from digital methods ensuring their continuing use. Progress is uneven and there is still a need for improved digital pedagogy and better integration of theoretical and practical learning.

More attention is needed to digital pedagogy and to effective use of online methods to support work-based learning with corresponding implications for staff development. There are institutional implications in terms of ensuring that systems and structures support what is, particularly for work-based learners, likely to be a permanent move towards digital, blended and online learning.

There has been limited research on the impact of the pandemic on work-based learning, with most of the literature focusing on placements and projects. This paper presents findings at a point when universities are considering how technologically-supported methods will be employed on a more permanent basis.

This study aims to dissect the multifaceted impact of ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, specifically within civil engineering testing and calibration laboratories. To achieve this, it intends to explore several key objectives: identifying the prominent benefits of accreditation to laboratory performance, understanding the advantages conferred through participation in proficiency testing schemes, assessing the role of accreditation in enhancing laboratory competitiveness, examining the primary challenges encountered during the accreditation process, investigating any discernible adverse effects of accreditation on laboratory performance and evaluating whether the financial cost of accreditation justifies the resultant profitability.

This study employs a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews with 23 industry professionals—including technical managers, quality managers, external auditors and clients. Thematic analysis, guided by Braun and Clarke’s six-stage paradigm, was utilized to interpret the data, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the accreditation’s impact.

Findings reveal that accreditation significantly enhances operational processes, fosters quality awareness and facilitates continuous improvement, contributing to greater client satisfaction. In addition, standardized operations and rigorous quality controls further result in enhanced performance metrics, such as staff capability and measurement accuracy. However, the study also uncovers the challenges of accreditation, including high resource costs and bureaucratic hurdles that can inhibit innovation and slow routine operations. Importantly, the research underscores that the impact of accreditation on profitability is not universal, but contingent upon various factors like sector-specific regulations and market demand. The study also highlights sector-specific variations in the role of accreditation as a marketing tool and differing perceptions of its value among clients. It further emphasizes the psychological stress of high-stakes evaluations during audits.

This study represents the first in-depth investigation into the impact of ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation on civil engineering testing and calibration laboratories, directly contributing to the enhancement of their quality and operational standards. Providing actionable insights for laboratories, it underscores the importance of weighing accreditation costs and benefits and the necessity for a tailored approach to the unique market and regulatory landscapes they operate in.

COVID-19 has immensely disrupted business dynamism, providing catalyst innovation opportunities and transposing society's perception of disruptive technology (DT). This research increases the understanding of the impact of the pandemic in influencing the way organizations perceive DT and whether any mitigating factors were considered when deciding to adopt new technology during the pandemic.

A qualitative approach was adopted in this research, consisting of 14 semi-structured interviews with eight senior managers and six employees, representing both the private and public sectors in New Zealand. All participants had in-depth knowledge of organizational DT adoption during the pandemic. Two separate sets of semi-structured interviews were used to enable comparison between senior managers' and employees' experiences of organizational adoption of DT post-emergence of COVID-19. Due to the nature of this research being conducted on organizational adoption of DT during the pandemic, time constraints and sample size were two of the key limitations of this research. Specifically, potential participants widely cited unavailability due to additional pressure from COVID-19. Given the limited research in this area, this study is explorative by nature and adds significant insights to the literature.

The findings suggest that COVID-19 has contributed towards an increased acceptance of, reliance on and adoption of DT across both organizational and social landscapes. The authors found that one of the reasons COVID-19 expedites the adoption of DT correlates with the notion of technology dependency, with organizations citing DT as a viable part of a business continuity plan (BCP) to counter the unpredictability of ongoing disruptive events associated with COVID-19 or any similar disruption which may be on the horizon. These findings are highly relevant as they suggest that the labor market in New Zealand is flexible so organizations and employees can adapt to DT and COVID-19.

This research adds much-needed insight into the emerging field of research that examines COVID-19's impact on the adoption of DT from both management and employee perspectives.

This chapter analyses the other aspect of an oppressor/oppressed relationship by looking at what happens to the oppressed, in this case, the academics and staff not in leadership roles. This chapter looks at why the tactics leaders employ work, and why people do not retaliate, and what systems have been put in place to prevent the people from having any consequential power. This chapter thus looks at how the power of the majority in the academy has been slowly eroded by managerial promises of empowerment, self-governance or having an opinion on the institution's direction when in reality, they have no opinion, and the only decisions they can make are inconsequential. This is why time and time again, we see universities restructure, remove non-profitable courses and increase targets to unrealistic levels to maintain power over the majority.

The purpose of this study is to describe peer support work in a men’s mental health unit from a lived experience and service user’s perspective. The intertwining of process (a lived experience perspective) and subject (the therapeutic value of peer support) leads to greater knowledge and insight into peer support for people with mental health problems.

This service user narrative draws on the extracts from a reflective journal of interactions and conversations with people with mental health problems as well as feedback from service users and staff about the value of peer support. These methods allow a first-person, service user’s, reflective and narrative account of peer support work.

Peer support work, particularly hearing voices sessions, are found to be highly therapeutic and worthwhile. They promote insight and create feelings of safety and hope in what can sometimes be a frightening and hostile ward environment. Peer support provides emotional and practical support. Sharing stories and experiences of mental illness with people leads to trust, feelings of being valued, heard and accepted as well as better experiences of care and being seen as a person first. Due to their shared experiences, peer support workers are able to befriend people with mental health problems on the ward. Peer support work bridges the gap and vacuum of care between people with mental health problems and staff. It compensates for understaffing to provide more holistic and person-centred care and support.

Lived experience/ service user perspectives and narratives on peer support are rare, particularly in a hospital setting. This article provides a rich, perhaps overlooked and hidden narrative on the nature of peer support work. People with mental health problems, like Ben, are often excluded from society, health and social care, education, employment and research. This narrative opens up a pathway to understanding peer support from a service user perspective.