'I felt that I do live in the UK now':international students' self-reports of their English language speaking experiences on a pre-sessional programme

This article focuses on the English language experiences of a group of pre-sessional students, an under-represented group in the literature on language and education. In particular, it investigates the opportunities that such students have to use English outside the classroom, shown to be a key factor in student satisfaction with their study abroad experience. Drawing on data from questionnaires, interviews and on-line diaries, we show that students have a variety of opportunities to use English; however, these opportunities may require students to engage in complex negotiations right from the beginning of their sojourn in the UK. Micro-analysis of the data shows that agency is a key construct in understanding students' representations of their English encounters as they begin their lives in the UK. The article concludes with some suggestions as to how pre-sessional courses may develop students' linguistic and socio-cultural skills in order that they may interact successfully in English outside the classroom. © 2011 Taylor &Francis.

Every child a wanted child: mid-life women's experiences of contraception

This paper is based on qualitative research which found that the contraceptive pill had achieved a "hegemonic status" among some British women in their thirties. In addition, despite the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, the idea of using condoms was very unpopular, and the research suggests that this is linked to a reluctance to rely on male cooperation over contraception. This paper will further argue that the women generally chose methods that they felt would be in their own best interests, and were often exercising considerable agency within the constraints of their relationships. Moreover, by accepting the responsibility for contraception, the women not only gained sole control over their fertility, but contraception may be an area within heterosexuality where women can exercise power.

International retail restructuring and divestment: the experience of Tesco

A key purpose of this study is to explore the lessons learned from international retail divestment and market withdrawal experiences. Drawing on 33 in-depth interviews with leading investment banks and key retail executives at Tesco, the study investigates the company's international restructuring and divestment activities in Ireland and France during the mid -1980s and 1990s. It has been demonstrated that, despite the progressive merger and acquisition wave sweeping through the corporate retail landscape recently, international retail divestment is quite widespread. The main conclusion from this study is that Tesco originally did not envisage divestment or de-internationalisation as part of the original internationalisation strategy process in either the acquisition of Three Guys in Ireland or Catteau in France. There was no appreciation from Tesco during their early period of expansion of the fact that exit pressures might arise during the course of market entry. In this regard, the case study provides insights into the relationship between investment and divestment within the context of international retail restructuring. The case evidence also demonstrates the positive impact of the Three Guys and Catteau divestments which helped management to refocus and rejuvenate the company's internationalisation process.

Crossing threshold periods in the retail life cycle:Insights from Wal-Mart international

This article takes a broader theoretical perspective of the retail life cycle by incorporating threshold periods at important inflection points in the international growth process. Specifically, it considers one threshold interval between an early phase of disjointed international expansion and a more focused, accelerated international growth programme. It concludes that executives need to consider a set of threshold periods during the development and growth of international store operations, understand why these events occur, and consider in what ways to respond to them to overcome and cross the threshold. Salient lessons are extracted from Wal-Mart's experiences during the threshold period for other international managers. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

International retail joint venture learning

Where retail entry mode decision-making is examined in the literature, it has almost exclusively focused upon international store acquisitions and franchising growth and expansion. In contrast, international joint venture decision-making processes are visibly absent in the international retail literature. This article explores three retail multinationals' international retail joint venturing experiences, extracting some of the salient lessons learned at each stage of the joint venture development process and their concurrent impact on the whole internationalisation process. Suggestions for further research are made on the basis of gaps in the international retail literature and the lessons extracted from the cases under investigation. © 2006 Taylor & Francis.

Inequalities in retail choice: exploring consumer experiences in suburban neighbourhoods

Focuses on deprived neighbourhoods where instances of “food deserts” have been found and explores, through focus groups, consumer experiences of food store choices. Focusing on suburban neighbourhoods in Portsmouth, identifies significant differences in experiences of choice both between and within neighbourhoods. In some localities, the research also finds dissatisfaction with the (supposedly-coveted) “small local store”. Shows that choice is very different from provision, and conceptualises how consumers’ circumstances, situation and individual characteristics can significantly reduce a broad theoretical provision of food stores to a limited set of perceived real choices.

Strategic and operational risk in an international collaboration agency: a knowledge management solution

The International Cooperation Agency (identified in this article as IDEA) working in Colombia is one of the most important in Colombian society with programs that support gender rights, human rights, justice and peace, scholarships, aboriginal population, youth, afro descendants population, economic development in communities, and environmental development. The identified problem is based on the diversified offer of services, collaboration and social intervention which requires diverse groups of people with multiple agendas, ways to support their mandates, disciplines, and professional competences. Knowledge creation and the growth and sustainability of the organization can be in danger because of a silo culture and the resulting reduced leverage of the separate group capabilities. Organizational memory is generally formed by the tacit knowledge of the organization members, given the value of accumulated experience that this kind of social work implies. Its loss is therefore a strategic and operational risk when most problem interventions rely on direct work in the socio-economic field and living real experiences with communities. The knowledge management solution presented in this article starts first, with the identification of the people and groups concerned and the creation of a knowledge map as a means to strengthen the ties between organizational members; second, by introducing a content management system designed to support the documentation process and knowledge sharing process; and third, introducing a methodology for the adaptation of a Balanced Scorecard based on the knowledge management processes. These three main steps lead to a knowledge management “solution” that has been implemented in the organization, comprising three components: a knowledge management system, training support and promotion of cultural change.

Exploring the experiences of nurses who care for children who have Acute Life Threatening Events (ALTE) in hospital

This thesis presents a program of work designed to explore and describe what the experience of caring for a child who has an Acute Life Threatening Event (ALTE) is like for the nurses. An ALTE may include a cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest or unplanned admission for a ward to the Paediatric Intensive Care unit. Using the MRC framework for the development of complex interventions, this information was then coupled with theory to develop the PREPARE and SUPPORT interventions. Given the wide-ranging and exploratory nature of this research, a pragmatic, mixed design approach was used to address the aims and objectives of the thesis. The mixed design approach included: a systematic literature review; international survey of practice; interviews with nurses and doctors using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis; development, refinement and evaluation of interventions during a feasibility study. Two studies were identified through the systematic review which aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of debriefing. The studies did not provide evidence to support the use of these interventions within healthcare. The international survey of practice demonstrated hospitals were using interventions to both prepare and support nurses for these events. The preparatory interventions were clinically focused and the majority of the supportive interventions included a debrief. The interventions were not being evaluated for effectiveness. The interviews conducted with nurses and doctors provided insight into what that experience was like for the participants. Using the MRC framework, this evidence was coupled with theory to develop the PREPARE and SUPPORT interventions. A multidisciplinary working party used an iterative process to refine and evaluate the interventions and study procedures were explored through a feasibility study. The pragmatic, mixed design approach demonstrated how the empirical evidence was coupled with theory and clinical expertise to develop interventions for use within the healthcare environment.

Process and performance in international collaborative research

Motivated by policy goals to develop international research capability and our experiences of collaborative research, we wanted to learn more about the factors that influence success in collaborative research. This article presents a review of the academic literature on collaborative research, focusing on multinational teams doing international comparative research. We address the question ‘what accounts for variation in process and performance of collaborative research projects?’, through 11 themes: context; vision; reward and commitment; leadership; structure; contract; task capability; sociability; communication; finance; rhythm and pace. We then propose an agenda for future research with an analytic framework and, finally, our conclusions.

International academic careers:personal reflections

University business schools are increasingly adopting an international outlook as they compete for students who are aiming for global careers. A natural consequence of university internationalization is the need to internationalize the academic workforce, resulting in increasing attention on, and recognition for, the academic with international teaching and research experience. Yet the effort and complexity involved in making an international academic transition is often overlooked. Academic institutions' efforts to recruit international academics often outpace their expertise and support in the inpatriation and orientation processes. Academics interested in international mobility may find it difficult to obtain helpful information prior to arrival in the new country and encounter problems in adjusting to their new job and surroundings. This paper presents personal experiences of a select group of academics who have moved between countries. Their reports illustrate differences in teaching loads, language, student behavior, recruitment and career-ladder issues across countries, as well as strategies they have used to adapt to their new surroundings. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

Universities Masters World Cup Soccer:integrated sports science research and implementation of an international masters soccer community

Ageing populations with greater wellness and athletic expectations require quality sports and active living experiences in order to increase and sustain participation levels. Responding to the diverse needs and circumstances of Masterslveterans players is a complex and multi-faceted process. While sports science contributions have been very effective at enhancing active living in a variety of youth and adult sports events, very little has been documented regarding their efficacy in events for Masterslveteran players. This paper draws upon action research to examine the growth and development of a unique Masters World Cup 6-0-side Soccer Tournament, involving representative teams from twelve nations. lntegrated sports science concepts and strategies were employed to develop quality soccer experiences. Longitudinal data suggest that fostering a community of practice is critical to the success of Masters soccer programs. In addition to critical leadership contributions, an eclectic range of age-appropriate and responsive soccer experiences are essential to ensure that Masters events meet the diverse needs and circumstances of the players.

Practically oriented design projects in mechatronics engineering:a case study of design experiences and outcomes

This paper discusses and presents a case study of a practically oriented design project together with a few examples of implemented design projects recently incorporated into an undergraduate system course at the mechatronics engineering department in Ah-Balqa’ Applied University. These projects have had a positive impact on both the department and its graduates. The focus of these projects is the design and implementation of processor-based system. This helps graduate students cross the border between hardware design and software design. Our case study discusses the research methodology adopted for the physical development of the project, the technology used in the project, and the design experiences and outcomes.