An analysis of marketing programmes adopted by regional small and medium-sized enterprises

Originality/value – Their ability to understand their marketplace and to become truly competitive relies on SMEs developing a deeper understanding of their current marketing decision-making processes through the systematic adoption of more robust strategic procedures. In summary, there is an observable difference between marketing activities conducted by SMEs and best practice defined in academic theory.Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to create an understanding of the true nature of contemporary SME marketing activities. While acknowledging operational constraints, the paper aims to hypothesize that, if effective marketing planning was employed, this would improve the long-term growth of small to medium-sized enterprises. The paper seeks to assess the implications current practices may have on the long-term survival of enterprises and to identify significant SME marketing development and training needs. Design/methodology/approach – A marketing audit approach yielded data from the collation of 125 completed online questionnaires within the East of England region. Statistical analysis using SPSS was applied to produce an in-depth quantitative analysis of these data. In addition, qualitative data were collected through face-to-face interviews of some 20 owner-managers. These responses were further inductively analysed and interpreted. Findings – Data analysis demonstrated a significant disparity between their perceived marketing effectiveness compared with their actual practices recorded at interview. Significantly, they failed to understand why campaigns did not yield results, as they routinely did not employ appropriate controls and procedures. SMEs believed that they were fully cognisant of the effectiveness of their marketing activity, through further exploration; evidence revealed that they failed to employ sufficient review procedures, and in the extreme cases these procedures were non-existent. A direct correlation was also witnessed between company size and the application of effective marketing planning. Larger enterprises demonstrated a greater awareness of strategic marketing competence

On Thompson's simple group

AbstractRecently, Thompson [9] constructed a new simple group E of order 215 ∘ 3105372 ∘ 13 ∘ 19 ∘ 31 = 90, 745, 943, 887, 872, 000. In particular, E contains only one conjugacy class of involutions, and if e is an involution in E then CE(e) is a (nonsplit) extension of an extra-special 2-group of order 29 by A9, the alternating group of degree 9.The aim of this paper is to prove the following result

EFFECTS OF MIDSTORY REMOVAL ON BLACK OAK (\u3ci\u3eQUERCUS VELUTINA\u3c/i\u3e) AND WHITE OAK (\u3ci\u3eQUERCUS ALBA\u3c/i\u3e) REGENERATION

The formation of dense understories in eastern forests has created low light environments that hinder the development of advance oak reproduction. Studies have shown that a midstory removal can enhance these light conditions and promote the development of competitive oak seedlings. Previous studies have been primarily focused on oaks found on productive sites, and there is little knowledge of this treatment’s potential on intermediate sites and the typically associated oak species. This study investigates the seven-year effects of midstory removal on natural and underplanted white (Quercus alba L.) and black oak (Quercus velutina L.) reproduction, as well as competing red maples (Acer rubrum L.), on intermediate sites within the western rim of the Cumberland Plateau. In addition to its effect on stand reproduction, this study also investigates the impact of this treatment on microclimate. Results from this study can provide a look at the long term success of midstory removal on intermediate quality sites and serve as a basis for future oak management in the region

Physiological and Biochemical Aspects of Agrobacterium-Wheat (\u3ci\u3eTriticum aestivum\u3c/i\u3e L.) Interactions

Agrobacterium tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes are the causal agents of gall or hairy root disease, but normally the bacteria do not cause disease in wheat. However, both bacteria grew without inhibition when exposed to intact or wounded wheat roots or embryos, and they colonized wheat root surfaces to levels similar to dicotyledonous plants. A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes induced 23% cell death after a 1-h exposure to wheat embryo cells grown in 7.4 mM O2, while the extent of cell death at 2.1 mM 02 was 8%. Contact with A. tumefaciens or A. rhizogenes caused cultured wheat embryo and root cells to rapidly produce H202, which decreased when embryos and roots were cultured at 2.1 mM O2. Browning and autofluorescence, and an increase in ferulic acid in cell walls, were observed in wheat embryo and root epidermal cells exposed to Agrobacterium, but . neither lignin nor callose was detected. Agrobacterium appeared to induce resistance-like responses in wheat that may limit transformation efficiency. The inability to regenerate wheat plants using tissue culture has been a limitation to high efficiency transformation. Regeneration via somatic embryogenesis was improved significantly by simulating the in ovulo environment to which the immature wheat embryos are exposed. Triticum embryo culture medium (TEC) improved callus formation, somatic embryo formation, and regeneration from somatic embryos while reducing precocious germination when compared to growth on Murashige and Skoog medium. Regeneration frequencies were improved when embryos were cultured at the O2 concentration found in the wheat ovule (2.1 mM O2) rather than atmospheric 02concentration (7.4 mM O2). Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of wheat was limited by tissue necrosis following co-cultivation, and by poor plant regeneration. Reduction of necrosis and increased plant regeneration were accomplished by amending the culture medium with antioxidant compounds and by reducing the O2 tension in which the wheat embryos were cu1tured. Twelve days past anthesis (DPA), wheat embryos were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains WAg 11 or EHA 101, incubated on TEC medium containing antioxidant compounds (catalase, cysteine and ascorbic acid), and cultured at 2.1 mM O2 concentrations. Transformation was documented in 6.0% ofregeneratedA. tumefaciens WAg 11 exposed wheat plants using the firefly luciferase (luc) reporter system

Interest Representation as a Clash of Unequal Allies

Organized interests do not have direct control over the fate of their policy agendas in Congress. They cannot introduce bills, vote on legislation, or serve on House committees. If organized interests want to achieve virtually any of their legislative goals they must rely on and work through members of Congress. As an interest group seeks to move its policy agenda forward in Congress, then, one of the most important challenges it faces is the recruitment of effective legislative allies. Legislative allies are members of Congress who “share the same policy objective as the group” and who use their limited time and resources to advocate for the group’s policy needs (Hall and Deardorff 2006, 76). For all the financial resources that a group can bring to bear as it competes with other interests to win policy outcomes, it will be ineffective without the help of members of Congress that are willing to expend their time and effort to advocate for its policy positions (Bauer, Pool, and Dexter 1965; Baumgartner and Leech 1998b; Hall and Wayman 1990; Hall and Deardorff 2006; Hojnacki and Kimball 1998, 1999). Given the importance of legislative allies to interest group success, are some organized interests better able to recruit legislative allies than others? This question has received little attention in the literature. This dissertation offers an original theoretical framework describing both when we should expect some types of interests to generate more legislative allies than others and how interests vary in their effectiveness at mobilizing these allies toward effective legislative advocacy. It then tests these theoretical expectations on variation in group representation during the stage in the legislative process that many scholars have argued is crucial to policy influence, interest representation on legislative committees. The dissertation uncovers pervasive evidence that interests with a presence across more congressional districts stand a better chance of having legislative allies on their key committees. It also reveals that interests with greater amounts of leverage over jobs and economic investment will be better positioned to win more allies on key committees. In addition, interests with a policy agenda that closely overlaps with the jurisdiction of just one committee in Congress are more likely to have legislative allies on their key committees than are interests that have a policy agenda divided across many committee jurisdictions. In short, how groups are distributed across districts, the leverage that interests have over local jobs and economic investment, and how committee jurisdictions align with their policy goals affects their influence in Congress

Study of the Lawrence and Mccarty ?c Design Model as an Operational Control Method for the Activated Sludge Process

Bioenvironmental Engineerin

Retroactive comparison of operator-designed and computer-generated skid-trail networks on steep terrain

Aim of the study: Quantify potential economic benefits of implementing computer-generated skid-trail networks over the traditional operator-designed skid-trail networks on steep terrain ground-based forest operations.Area of study: A 132-ha harvest operation conducted at the University of Kentucky’s Robinson Forest in eastern Kentucky, USA.Materials and methods: We compared computer-generated skid-trail network with an operator-designed network for a 132-ha harvest. Using equipment mounted GPS data and a digital elevation model (DEM), we identified the original operator-designed skid-trail network. Pre-harvest conditions were replicated by re-contouring terrain slopes over skid-trails to simulate the natural topography and by spatially distributing the harvestable volume based on pre-harvest inventories and timber harvest records. An optimized skid-trail network was designed using these pre-harvest conditions and compared to the original, operator-designed network.Main results: The computer-generated network length was slightly longer than the operator-designed network (53.7 km vs. 51.7 km). This also resulted in a slightly longer average skidding distance (0.71 km vs. 0.66 km) and higher total harvesting costs (5.1 $ton-1 vs. 4.8$ ton-1).  However, skidding costs of the computer-generated network were slightly lower (4.2 $ton-1 vs. 4.3$ ton-1).  When comparing only major skid-trails, those with ≥ 20 machine passes, the computer-generated skid-trail network was 28% shorter than the operator network (9.4 km vs. 13.1 km). Research highlight: This assessment offers evidence that computer-generated networks could be used to generate efficient skid-trails, help determine skidding costs, and assess further potential economic and environmental benefits.Key words: timber harvesting; forest operations; network optimization; soil disturbances; cost minimization

A model of horse mussel reef formation in the Bay of Fundy based on population growth and geological processes

From a total of 14 geological sediment provinces recognized in the Bay of Fundy only five: sand with bioherms, gravel/cobble, gravel /scallop bed, mottled gravel and glacio-marine mud were found to have significant populations of the horse mussel, Modiolus modiolus. Valve increment measures of annual growth rings in the early years of life of populations of these Bay of Fundy horse mussels, suggest that growth rates vary with the geological province where they are found. Horse mussel populations grow fastest on sand with bioherms, closely followed by those growing on gravel/scallop bed; the slowest growing are found on gravel/ cobble and mottled gravel geological provinces. Multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data have been collected in an area of mussel reefs in the central part of the Bay of Fundy. The data indicates that the mussel reefs (bioherms) tend to occur on the eastern side of small, gravel covered, glacial ridges on the seabed and form a variety of single and multiple, long and short reefs that rise above the seabed up to 3 m high. They are always associated with sand in transport at the seabed in a variety of bedforms. A conceptual model of formation and location is presented that considers: current velocity and turbulence, well-mixed water masses, seabed morphology, sediment distribution and sediment transport, as causative factors. RÉSUMÉ D’un total de 14 classes de sédiments géologiques reconnues dans la baie de Fundy, seulement cinq (biohermes, gravier/galets, gravier/fond de pétoncle, gravier tacheté et boue glacio-marine) renfermaient des populations importantes de modiole Modiolus modiolus. Les mesures de l’augmentation valvaire des cernes d’accroissement annuels durant les premières années de vie des populations de modioles dans la baie de Fundy indiqueraient que les taux de croissance varient selon la classe de sédiment géologique où ils se trouvent. Les populations de modioles croissent plus rapidement dans le sable renfermant des biohermes, et la croissance est presque aussi grande chez les modioles présents dans les classes de sédiments composées de gravier/fond de pétoncles; la croissance la plus lente a été observée dans les classes de sédiments géologiques composées de gravier/galets et de gravier tacheté. Des données ont été recueillies au moyen de la bathymétrie par secteurs et de la rétrodiffusion dans une zone de récifs de moules de la partie centrale de la baie de Fundy. Les données indiquent que les récifs de moules (biohermes) semblent se former sur le côté est de petites crêtes glaciaires recouvertes de gravier sur le plancher sous‑marin, et qu’ils forment divers récifs uniques et multiples, longs et courts, qui s’élèvent sur le plancher sous-marin jusqu’à une hauteur de trois mètres. Ils sont toujours associés avec le sable déplacé sur le plancher sous-marin dans diverses morphologies de fond. On présente un modèle conceptuel de la formation et de l’emplacement qui considère comme facteurs de causalité les éléments suivants : la vitesse et la turbulence actuelles, les masses d’eau homogènes, la morphologie du plancher sous-marin, la répartition des sédiments et les transports sédimentaires. [Traduit par la redaction