Business, state, and community: 'responsible risk takers', New Labour, and the governance of corporate business

In December 1998, Peter Mandelson MP, one of the principal architects of the Labour Party’s victory in the May 1997 general election, dramatically resigned as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Nevertheless, despite his relatively brief period in that office, Mr. Mandelson left his imprint on policy through the publication in November 1998 of a major White Paper, ‘Our Competitive Future: Building the Knowledge Driven Economy’. The White Paper sets out the New Labour analysis of the national political economy in a globalized world economy and is very much influenced by Mr. Mandelson’s experience of the entrepreneurial spirit during his fact-finding visit to the United States of America. This article seeks to chart the relationship between New Labour’s desire to foster the development of the corporate sector within a vibrant entrepreneurial culture and the need to ensure that the integrity of the market is preserved in an arena which is seen as inimicable to strong regulatory intervention by the state. As well as mapping New Labour’s political rhetoric onto contemporary debates in corporate governance, the analysis will involve an examination of the interface between business practice and morality. In particular, the article will focus upon the role of the conception of company directors as ‘responsible risk takers’ and the upon the use of name-and-shame sanctions in the development of an entrepreneurial culture in which all corporate enterprises are seen as having a legitimate societal ‘licence to operate’

Event sponsorship in China

Event marketing is currently at the infant stage in China, but holds a great potential in future. This is concluded from an Internet-based survey. The respondents believe that event marketing provides international companies with a viable alternative to the increasingly cluttered mass media, and plays a key role in the integrated marketing communications (IMC). Sponsoring sports and music events is found particularly effective in reaching the opinion leaders and innovators, and establishing favourable links between the audience and the sponsor’s brand image

Paisajes de la sal artesanales en Europa: de patrimonio minero a paisajes culturales vivos

Artisanal salt making in Europe is experiencing an unprecedented expansion, thanks to a stronger awareness of quality food products, the protection of a traditional know-how and the maintenance of the natural values of productive landscapes. Over the last century, small solar evaporation salt making sites across the continent had been experiencing a decline, in favour of large, industrial mining facilities. Hand harvested salt was seen as a low-quality product, not fit for its use in food or other applications. In Spain and Portugal alone, from the over 700 former salt making sites, only 10% survived, the rest falling into oblivion. In the early 21st century, some abandoned sites were gaining attention as mining heritage, being recovered as open-air museums. In a few cases, some sites were recovered in extremis as productive sites, becoming (again) living cultural landscapes. In this contribution, we analyse the recovery of twelve saltscapes in Europe, with different degrees of advancement. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods allows to understand the processes and which factors influence the transformation from an abandoned mining site to a thriving productive landscape that celebrates and protects its cultural, human and natural values. La producción artesanal de sal en Europa está experimentando una expansión sin precedentes, gracias a una mayor concienciación sobre los productos alimentarios de calidad, la protección del conocimiento tradicional y el mantenimiento de los valores naturales de los paisajes productivos. Durante el siglo XX, pequeñas salinas de evaporación solar en todo el continente experimentaronun declive, en favor de las grandes instalaciones industriales. La sal cosechada a mano era vista como un producto de baja calidad, no apta para su uso en alimentación u otras aplicaciones. Solo en España y Portugal, de los más de 700 antiguos espacios salineros, solo el 10% sobrevivió, cayendo el resto en el olvido. A principios del siglo XXI, algunos espacios abandonados recibieron atención como patrimonio minero, siendo recuperados como museos al aire libre. En algunos casos, algunos recuperaron in extremis la producción, convirtiéndose (de nuevo) en paisajes culturales vivos. En esta contribución, analizamos la recuperación de doce paisajes de la sal en Europa, con diferentes grados de avance. Una combinación de métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos permite comprender los procesos y qué factores influyenen la transformación de un espacio minero abandonado a un próspero paisaje productivo que celebra y protege sus valores culturales, humanos y naturales.Peer Reviewe

Giving By High Net Worth Individuals In Northern Ireland

There is currently a high level of interest in the UK and Ireland around the potential of philanthropy by high net worth individuals (HNWIs) to promote greater strategic investment in society. Philanthropic giving is the structured, planned and strategic giving of resources (money, time, expertise or goods) to positively impact on society. In Northern Ireland there is a well-established culture of public support for charitable causes which compares favourably with that in the UK as a whole. However, nationally, it is generally accepted that there is scope to increase the number of donors and levels of donations from HNWIs. Comparing giving in the UK and USA, research by the Charities Aid Foundation highlights that the wealthiest 10% of people in society account for around 50% of all individual giving in the USA compared with just over 20% in the UK

Chapter One: “Is this a book?” DC Vertigo and the redefinition of comics in the 1990s

Not only comics publishing but also perceptions of it have changed radically during this century and the comic book has become a graphic novel; invoking notions of permanence, literariness and artistry. This chapter will examine the changes that brought about this redefinition in the 1990s, specifically with regard to the role of DC Vertigo and the rise of the trade paperback. Building on the popularity of British creators in the 1980s and the success of titles such as Hellblazer and Animal Man, DC launched their Vertigo imprint in 1993, with Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman as their flagship title. Having the somewhat paradoxical aim of uniting unique creative voices under one imprint, the majority of Vertigo titles (which feature original characters) are creator-owned and the Vertigo stable is comprised mainly of British authors, many of whom were recruited while writing for 2000AD in the 1980s. Vertigo puts out more trade paperbacks than any other imprint and their great success in marketing the trade paperback form in many senses paved the way for other publishers to repackage their material in similar form. After summarising the position of comics at the close of the 1980s (British invasion, emergent star writers, direct distribution) this chapter proceeds to discuss the emergence of the trade paperback in the 1990s and its role in redefining comics. Relevant industry factors will include: • technical advances – digitising and reproduction has led to higher production values; but also perhaps a homogeneity of style; • employment changes – everything has been brought in-house; • marketing changes (star writer) – uses romantic ideology to assign an author function; • maxi-series versus ongoing serialisation – new permanence of product; writing for a multi-issue story-arc. Outside factors will also be discussed, including: • emergent IP law – this has given more control to the creator; but freezes shared symbols and limits development; • mechanical reproduction – comic book as product; multiple forms; • fan culture – mid 1990s speculators market crash; neglect of child market; • social context/cultural expectations – celebrity culture responsible for the emergence of star writers; youth culture and resisting definition as children’s literature; • new media – trade paperbacks mirror DVD releases (including extras); • bookstore distribution – challenge to direct marketing of 1980s; brings comics closer to ‘proper’ books; reliant upon author function. These changes in comics’ production and consumption, together with the critical attention now afforded them, have brought the contemporary comic book closer to the notion of the literary text

Reporting doping in sport: national level athletes' perceptions of their role in doping prevention.

This paper qualitatively explores national level athletes' willingness to report doping in sport. Following ethical approval, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine national level athletes from rugby league (n = 5) and track and field athletics (n = 4). Thematic analysis established the main themes within the data. Contextual differences existed around the role that athletes perceived they would play if they became aware of doping. Specifically, track and field athletes would adopt the role of a whistle-blower and report individuals who were doping in their sport. In comparison, the rugby league players highlighted a moral dilemma. Despite disagreeing with their teammates' actions, the players would adhere to a code of silence and refrain from reporting doping. Taking these findings into account, prevention programs might focus on changing broader group and community norms around doping. In doing so, community members' receptivity to prevention messages may increase. Moreover, developing skills to intervene (e.g., speaking out against social norms that support doping behavior) or increasing awareness of reporting lines could enhance community responsibility for doping prevention. In sum, the findings highlight the need to consider the context of sport and emphasize that a one-size-fits-all approach to anti-doping is problematic

Hunched over their laptops: phenomenological perspectives on citizen journalism

Donald Matheson (2003) writes of war correspondents ‘scowling at their notebooks’, and this is not meant as caricature but the corporeal expression of an epistemological orientation to the world in which facts have to be wrestled into submission. This article takes a phenomenological approach to ask whether there is a distinct orientation of citizen journalism and blogging, exploring the corporeal, temporal and spatial aspects of non-professional practices of media production. Hunching over a laptop suggests an epistemology in which facts and opinions are urgent and potentially subversive, though it is also tied to the romanticised individualism with which citizen journalism in particular is associated

How to reach 1.3bn consumers in China?

International companies in China today are facing stiff competiton from not just other foreign firms but local brands, which have moderate or even matching quality but sell at a far lower prices. They also find it more difficult to reach the increasingly sophistated consumer markets. Communications through the traditional mass media such TV and press become more expensive and less effective. Findings from the survey have shown that event marketing, though still at the early stage, can provide these companies with a good alternative, if used in coordination with other elements in the integrated marketing mix. The sponsorship of popular sports, music and local cultural events are reported to be particularly effective in forging direct contact with the opinion leaders, gatering marketing intellegence and encouraging product trials