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The purpose of this paper is to report an evaluation of a leading-with-compassion recognition scheme and to present a new framework for compassion derived from the data.

Qualitative semi-structured interviews, a focus group and thematic data analysis. Content analysis of 1,500 nominations of compassionate acts.

The scheme highlighted that compassion towards staff and patients was important. Links to the wider well-being strategies of some of the ten organisations involved were unclear. Awareness of the scheme varied and it was introduced in different ways. Tensions included the extent to which compassion should be expected as part of normal practice and whether recognition was required, association of the scheme with the term leadership, and the risk of portraying compassion as something separate, rather than an integral part of the culture. A novel model of compassion was developed from the analysis of 1,500 nominations.

The number of respondents in the evaluation phase was relatively low. The model of compassion contributes to the developing knowledge base in this area.

The model of compassion can be used to demonstrate what compassion “looks like”, and what is expected of staff to work compassionately.

A unique model of compassion derived directly from descriptions of compassionate acts which identifies the impact of compassion on staff.

Consumption ritual has been used to understand the meanings of consumption and consumer behavior, however less attention has been focused on the role of ritual in connoisseurship consumption and how consumption rituals can transform the consumer’s tastes. What is the role played by consumption ritual in connoisseurship taste?

Drawing on key concepts from ritual and taste theories and a qualitative analysis of the North American specialty coffee context, the authors address this question introducing the idea of connoisseurship taste ritual which is based on novelty coffee consumption practices that are opposite of the traditional or regular practices. The data collection set in the United States and Canada includes 15 consumer in-depth interviews, participant observation in 36 independent coffee shops in Canada and the United States, a Specialty Coffee Association of America event, and three barista coffee competitions. The body of qualitative data was interpreted using a hermeneutic approach.

The authors introduce the connoisseurship taste ritual which has several dimensions: (1) variation in the choices of high-quality products, (2) the place to perform the tasting, (3) the moment of tasting, (4) the tasting act, (5) perseverance, and (6) time and money investment.

This research paper extends the notion of consumption ritual introducing the connoisseurship taste ritual and also extends the theories of taste by explaining how, regarding a specific aesthetic category of product, people develop different tastes through ritualistic consumption.

Examines the history of Clares Merchandise Handling Equipment Limited, the UK’s leading manufacturer of supermarket shopping trolleys and its long connection with robotic welding technology. Its first robot was installed in 1976 and it has recently installed the 25th robot at its Somerset factory. Describes the MIG welding operation that many of the robots are used for and concludes that it is the company’s intentions to invest in robots in the future.

The purpose of this paper is to explore gay male informant experiences of discrimination and stigma in Bangkok from a health promotion community nursing perspective.

Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 informants and included field work observations at eight entertainment venues. Data analysis utilised an inductive thematic approach.

Key themes that emerged from the data were related to communication, particularly the use of smart phone applications; lack of privacy in health services; sexual exploitation by entertainment venues; and concerns about coming out safely to protect self-esteem and mental health.

Development of key mental health promotion messages based on a greater understanding and knowledge of discrimination and stigma may help to reduce negative behaviour and stigmatisation towards Thai gay men in Bangkok.

This chapter is concerned with the varied legitimizing discourses used by midwives to frame their identities in relation to their work. This sociological issue is particularly important in the context of an occupation, such as this one, that exists at the border of competing service claims. Drawing on 26 in-depth interviews, I use narrative analysis to examine the stories that midwives tell about their work. Through these women’s work narratives, I show the complex intersection of narrative, culture, institution, and biography (Chase, 1995, 2001; DeVault, 1999).

The great difficulties which attach to the fixing of legal standards of composition for food products have now to be grappled with by the Departmental Committee appointed by the Board of Agriculture to consider and determine what regulations should be made by the Board, under Section 4 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1899, with respect to the composition of butter. As we predicted in regard to the labours of the Milk and Cream Standards Committee, so we predict now that the Butter Committee will be unable to do more than to recommend standards and limits, which, while they will make for the protection of the public against the sale of grossly adulterated articles, will certainly not in any way insure the sale of butter of really satisfactory, or even of fair, composition. Standards and limits established by law for the purposes of the administration of criminal Acts of Parliament must of necessity be such as to legalise the sale of products of a most inferior character, to which the term “genuine” may still by law be applied as well as to legalise the sale of adulterated and sophisticated products so prepared as to come within the four corners of the law. It is, of course, an obvious necessity that official standards and limits should be established, and the Board of Agriculture are to be congratulated upon the manner in which they are endeavouring to deal with these extremely knotty problems; but it is important that misconception on the part of the public and the trade with respect to the effect of the regulations to be made should be as far as possible prevented. All that can be hoped for is that the conclusions at which the Committee may find themselves compelled to arrive will not be such as to place too high and too obvious a premium upon the sale of those inferior and scientifically‐adulterated products which are placed in such enormous quantities on the food market.

ON AVERAGE FIGURES, all coutries in the developed world (but, regrettably, not in the third world) are able to increase their national output year by year. Examined in isolation, statistics associated with such growth (e.g. output per worker) demonstrate a comforting trend — even though the vertical scales of graphics might have been selected with that purpose in mind! The simple step of making cross‐country comparisons can, however, quickly remove some of the complacency.

Notes that for whatever market – educational or general – low price paperback classic series have continued to expand rapidly and in the UK the market is dominated by Penguin and the Oxford University Press. States that the classic anthology remains one of the most influential forms of publishing poetry and that Oxford has been dominant in issuing throughout the twentieth century a series of magisterial anthologies which have gone a long way to establishing the canon of English poetry. Concludes that neither student nor general reader has ever been so well provided with such a wide range of truly classic literature at moderate prices from a range of publishers.

The purpose of the present study is to explore the collective consumption rituals associated with Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, and one of the largest shopping days in the USA.

The research design for this study followed the approach of psychological phenomenological interviewing. Over a two‐year period, the authors, along with trained research assistants, conducted interviews with experienced female Black Friday shoppers.

Qualitative data from 38 interviews indicated that Black Friday shopping activities constitute a collective consumption ritual that is practiced and shared by multiple generations of female family members and close friends. Four themes emerged from the data: familial bonding, strategic planning, the great race, and mission accomplished. The themes coalesced around a military metaphor.

The findings of this study indicate that Black Friday shoppers plan for the ritual by examining advertisements and strategically mapping out their plans for the day. Recommendations for retailers are presented.

This exploratory investigation of Black Friday as a consumption ritual offers new insight into the planning and shopping associated with this well‐known American pseudo‐holiday. Findings also extend theory and research on collective consumption rituals.