Within the context of a competitive UK Higher Education (HE) environment, this paper explores the transitions made by former or current practitioners who are now university academics, referred to in this study (and others) as 'pracademics'. Drawing together the concepts of pracademia, academic selves and professional identity, this paper makes a tri-fold contribution. First, this case study examines pracademics' perceptions from a post-1992, 1 UK-based higher education institution (HEI) through collaborative reflexivity. Secondly, it suggests how pracademics' professional selfidentities can be fluid and context-dependent. Thirdly, it explores affinities and tensions between academia and practice, and identifies opportunities for building links between them. In doing so, the research makes a number of specific recommendations. The authors advocate for the recruitment of academics with practitioner experience and the facilitation of their effective transition into and within the HEI environment.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically appraise the Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) policy that was introduced by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act (2014). Within a designated area assigned by the local council, PSPOs can prohibit or require specific behaviours to improve the quality of life for people inhabiting that space. Those who do not comply face a fixed penalty notice of £100 or a fine of £1,000 on summary conviction. However, the practical and theoretical impact associated with the development of these powers has yet to be fully explored. Design/methodology/approach Using Bannister and O’Sullivan’s (2013) discussion of civility and anti-social behaviour policy as a starting point, the authors show how PSPOs could create new frontiers in exclusion, intolerance and criminalisation, as PSPOs enable the prohibition of any type of behaviour perceived to negatively affect the quality of life. Findings Local councils in England and Wales now have unlimited and unregulated powers to control public spaces. The authors suggest that this has the potential to produce localised tolerance thresholds and civility agendas that currently target and further marginalise vulnerable people, and the authors highlight street sleeping homeless people as one such group. Originality/value There has been little academic debate on this topic. This paper raises a number of original, conceptual questions that provide an analytical framework for future empirical research. The authors also use original data from Freedom of Information requests to contextualise the discussions.

spending 10 years working as a solicitor in private practice, Jill moved into academia.Alongside various Course and Research Leadership roles, she has collaborated with both internal and external partners to develop student employability initiatives.

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This exploratory study addresses a gap in the literature for the potential in assessing domain-specific self-efficacy within the context of Higher Education (HE). Focusing on HE students' participation in extracurricular activities (ECAs), the study builds on the authors' previous research which recognised the impact of ECAs on HE students' lived experiences. An initial sample of two hundred and ninety-four students from a from a post-92 Higher Education Institution (HEI) in the North of England (UK) completed a survey designed to measure self-concepts of student self-efficacy, encompassing academic and social tasks, and fifty-four of those students completed a follow-up survey. The key finding was that there is a positive association between involvement in certain ECAs and self-efficacy in students within the university context. Furthermore, the results indicate a relationship between engagement with certain ECA-types and specific domains of self-efficacy. These findings have important implications in that supporting students to develop higher levels of self-efficacy specific to the university setting could have an impact on key HE outcomes, such as employability. Further research needs to be undertaken to establish if there is a causal link between involvement in ECAs and the development of self-efficacy whilst at university.