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Recently there has been a resurgence in the study of how ideas shape policies. Two perspectives which dominate this literature are what Habermas has called the empirical‐analytical tradition and historical‐hermeneutic tradition. These two epistemological positions represent contrasting views. They depict very different pictures of how ideas sway popular values and the policy choices confronted by policymakers. Each also raises important questions about how the processes of knowledge formation and promotion unfold and what actors play a dominant role in furthering these developments.

The purpose of this paper is to report on research investigating the relationship between physical activity and workplace design. In particular, the paper explores the social–ecological context of a new workplace building. This paper seeks to understand why better physical activity outcomes for the staff were not observed in the new building despite influence from a staff wellness committee during design; achieving success against existing best-practice indicators; and staff reporting increased feelings of wellness, energy and satisfaction with the new building.

Three design aspects are taken as a focus from within an opportunistic pre-/post-physical activity study of an organisation as they move from a building they occupied for 30 years into a new purpose-designed building. This study was conducted through mixed methods, incorporating ethnographic, architectural and quantitative means.

The social, spatial and personal context is important for understanding participant workplace-based physical activity. Despite the health and well-being goals and 5 Star Green Star outcomes of the new building, participants were sedentary for a substantive part of their workday in both buildings.

A well-designed environment can support staff feeling healthier, but the 5 Star Green Star rating does not implicitly ensure a healthier, activity-promoting environment. Facilities managers and designers can act to provide physically active paths as the most straightforward circulation option in workplaces.

The originality of this study lies in the opportunity to conduct a pre-/post-study of physical activity where the organisation, workforce and type of work are constant and where the variable is the building design, spatial configuration and location. The methods used in this study draw from both health promotion and architectural research practices.

For the 15 member states of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to join and to introduce a measure of equity to the emergent global information society, they must be able to manage and exploit digital communication networks, technologies, products and services in ways that nurture and advance Caribbean knowledge, culture and development. This requires a type of digital access to the new telecommunication infrastructures these small developing countries as yet have been unable to attain. As a consequence, this paper develops a six‐layered model of societal access that includes physical, financial, cognitive, secure, administrative and operational components, and argues that in the absence of all of these layers functioning together, less advanced economies like those in the Caricom grouping cannot begin to build local innovation, foster knowledge creation and advocate increased equity in the evolving networked society.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how perceived performance risk moderates consumers' evaluations of different types of promotions, including extra free product promotions (e.g. buy‐one‐get‐one‐free deals or BOGOFs) and price discounts (e.g. 50 per cent off). Some evidence shows that consumers prefer extra free products to discounts because of mental accounting, and the way that these different types of promotions are framed. This research explores a new moderating link in the consumer behaviour literature by showing that perceived performance risk, through its effect on a consumer's tendency to stockpile, moderates consumers' evaluations of extra free product promotions and price discounts.

This research uses a cross‐sectional experiment to manipulate perceived performance risk, type of promotion and promotion size, and measures consumers' value perceptions and purchase intentions. The experimental method provides greater internal validity and addresses calls in the literature for more experimental research in pricing and sales promotion studies.

The results indicate a clear and strong moderating effect for perceived risk on consumer value perceptions and preferences for extra free product promotions and price discounts. Specifically, for products low on performance risk consumers tend to attribute higher value to extra free product promotions than they do to discounts. The reverse occurs for products high on performance risk where consumers attribute higher value perceptions towards price discounts than they do to extra free product promotions. These findings have implications for a variety of different product categories including innovative new products, products with higher absolute promotion levels, and other categories where perceived risk is likely to vary.

These findings are consistent with and extend the literature on sales promotions by showing that existing theory holds for products low on performance risk, but that the theory should be extended for products high on performance risk. Therefore, retailers and managers should think carefully about how to frame promotions based on consumer perceived risk. The findings here highlight and present a more complete picture of the implications of different promotional types.

A variety of studies have examined consumer response to the design of a promotional offer (e.g. discount size, absolute versus relative amounts). Yet few studies have compared and examined consumer response to monetary and nonmonetary promotions. This study is the first study to examine the moderating role of perceived performance risk on consumer perceptions of different promotional frames and contributes by integrating literature in the area of perceived risk with literature in the area of sales promotions to provide a broader theory of consumer response to different promotional deals.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the benefits of a writing support programme in developing the skills and motivation of librarians to write for academic publication.

A brief review of the literature is presented. The model developed and implemented by this author is outlined. Findings from a survey of participants are discussed.

The formal programme commenced in 2007. The publication process takes time, particularly in the case of peer‐reviewed journals. This is exploratory work. It will take time to build up a body of information and a community of librarians writing for publication. Initial evidence indicates there is significant value to the programme.

The model is transferable and could help in building skills and confidence in academic writing. In addition academic writing could serve as a bridge between lecturing and library staff, addressing issues of common concern across the Academy.

This is the first formal writing support programme for librarians in Irish universities. Models exist in the USA. A similar model is used in the UK and Ireland to support lecturing staff writing for publication.

The purpose of this paper is to apply Lichtenstein et al.'s price perception model to American, Chinese and Japanese cultures, to test the measurement equivalence across three cultures, and to compare the price perception constructs across three cultures using equivalent instruments.

A questionnaire is used to collect information on more than 500 student respondents from America, China, and Japan.

Utilizing structural equation modeling, a 21‐item version of Lichtenstein et al.'s scale is created that has good fit across the three cultures. In progressively constraining tests, good model fit is found when constraining or partially constraining the factor loadings, error correlations, factor variances, and correlations between factors to be equal across three cultures tested. In addition, after creating price perception subscales, no significant differences emerge between Chinese, Japanese, and US consumers on value consciousness or price/quality schemas. Significant differences emerge on price consciousness, prestige sensitivity, and sales proneness.

The 21‐item scale of Lichtenstein et al.'s price perception model can be generalized to both China and Japan. The primary conclusions (i.e. that Chinese consumers reported significantly higher price and prestige sensitivity, compared to USA and Japanese consumers, while US consumers showed higher levels of sales proneness than Chinese and Japanese consumers) provide a rationale for international retailers to develop different pricing and promotional strategies when expanding their business into these three cultures.

A 21‐item scale to measure five of Lichtenstein et al.'s price perception constructs that has been validated through measurement invariance tests and compared across consumers in China, Japan, and the USA is provided.

The purpose of this paper is to examine customers’ use experiences in a smartphone application (app) context. Apps have emerged as popular tools among marketing practitioners. In service research, however, smartphone apps, and their customers’ use experiences, have received limited attention.

This paper provides a conceptual overview and draws on an empirical two-phase study comprising diary narratives of using a specific app and semi-structured interviews on the use of multiple apps by app users.

Results show that indirect use experiences play an important role in the holistic service experience. Compared with direct experiences, indirect use experiences do not require the actual use of apps or direct contact with the user. Also the context, such as the time and location of app use, is important for both direct and indirect use experience.

This paper highlights indirect use experiences as a vital component of service experiences and encourages researchers not to restrict use experiences to direct use only. Indirect use experiences enable managers to gain deep insights into the everyday use experiences of current and potential customers.

First, previous research on service experience has mainly focused on direct use experiences. This study highlights that indirect use experiences are an important part of the service experience. Second, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first attempt to investigate the use experiences of smartphone apps in a service marketing context.