New marketing, improved marketing, apocryphal marketing: is one marketing concept enough?

PURPOSE – This paper seeks to explore marketing's ambiguous relationship with truth and, in so doing, to question the efficacy and value of the marketing concept and the very nature of marketing itself. Is marketing something that marketers do, or is it something much broader than this? If the latter, are marketers themselves either willing, or able to operate beyond traditional boundaries and, if not, should they focus – honourably – on what they do best, and encourage/support others who might market just as effectively, but in a different manner? DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH – Starting with a summary of recent developments in marketing thought this paper argues that marketers find difficulty in implementing the marketing concept, and that market-oriented compromise and pretence should consequently be abandoned. The thesis goes on to suggest that both “performance” and the “part-time” marketer should be given greater respect and allocated substantially more credence by all marketing communities. FINDINGS – The argument concludes, ultimately, that marketing could find both greater respect and effectiveness by focusing its efforts more on the extremes of “marketing space”, and that the presently envisioned marketing concept offers scope only for a dispiriting and partially realised evocation of its stated aims. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS– Marketers should take marketing more seriously. ORIGINALITY/VALUE – This paper seeks to add to current debates on marketing theory and will, hopefully, help inform ongoing exploration into the nature and role of marketing practice

Health promoting prisons: an overview and critique of the concept

The notion that prisons should become more ‘health promoting’ is a policy agenda that is gaining increasing momentum, particularly in England and Wales1 , Scotland2 and across other European nations. The political strides made in this regard have been recognised globally, especially in the United States, where penal health reformers are attempting to replicate successful policy initiatives in Europe3 . Despite the favourable rhetoric, the extent to which the concept of a ‘health promoting prison’ is fully understood and implemented ‘on the ground’ by prison staff and managers in England varies4 . The primary aim of this article, therefore, is to open up and stimulate discussion on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) concept of a health promoting prison, as the extent to which this idea has been critically considered and debated is minimal. To encourage this wider discussion, the paper has three primary aims. It will first seek to introduce the origins and principles underpinning the health promoting prison; it will then set the health promoting prison within a political context. The paper will go on to explore some drawbacks to the approach, including the underlying conceptual and practical challenges

Social and environmental factors influencing in-prison drug use

Purpose – There is a strong political imperative to regard the prison as a key social setting for health promotion, but evidence indicates that drug misuse continues to be a significant issue for many prisoners. This paper aims to examine the social and environmental factors within the setting that influence individuals' drug taking. Design/methodology/approach – Focus groups and interviews were conducted with prisoners and staff in three male training prisons in England. The sampling approach endeavoured to gain “maximum variation” so that a broad based understanding of the prison setting could be gathered. The data were analysed in accordance with Attride-Stirling's thematic network approach. Findings – The findings suggest a myriad of social and environmental factors influencing drug use. While staff recognised the scale of the drugs problem, they struggled to cope with creative inmates who were not perturbed by taking risks to gain their supplies. Fellow prisoners played a major role in individuals' decision making, as did the boredom of institutional life and Mandatory Drug Testing (MDT) policies within the institutions. Practical implications – Drug treatment is an essential component of prison healthcare, but it only forms a small part of creating a health-promoting setting. If the health-promoting prison is to be fully realised, a more radical, upstream and holistic outlook is required. Originality/value – The settings approach is an important theoretical and practical approach in health promotion. In comparison to other settings (such as schools), however, there has been limited research on the prison as a health-promoting environment

Identifying health promotion needs among prison staff in three English prisons: results from a qualitative study.

Prisons are seen as a (temporary) home and community for offenders, yet they also have a dual role as a workplace for prison staff. This article explores how the "healthy settings" philosophy, commonly used in schools, applies in the prison environment. The article explores the concept of the health-promoting prison from the perspective of prison staff using semistructured interviews in three English prisons. Data were analyzed using Attride-Stirling's thematic network approach. The findings indicate that working in a prison can be highly stressful and can have a negative impact on physical and mental health. Staff perceived that the focus of health promotion efforts was in many cases exclusively focused on prisoners, and many suggested that prison staff needs were being overlooked. The article argues that the theory and practice of a health-promoting prison have developed rapidly in recent years but still lag behind developments in other organizations. The article suggests that health promotion policy and practice in prison settings may need to be reconfigured to ensure that the needs of all those who live and work there are recognized

Edge and total choosability of near-outerplanar graphs

It is proved that, if G is a K4-minor-free graph with maximum degree ∆ ≥ 4, then G is totally (∆ + 1)-choosable; that is, if every element (vertex or edge) of G is assigned a list of ∆ + 1 colours, then every element can be coloured with a colour from its own list in such a way that every two adjacent or incident elements are coloured with different colours. Together with other known results, this shows that the List-Total-Colouring Conjecture, that ch’’(G) = χ’(G) for every graph G, is true for all K4-minor-free graphs. The List-Edge-Colouring Conjecture is also known to be true for these graphs. As a fairly straightforward consequence, it is proved that both conjectures hold also for all K2,3-minor free graphs and all ( K2 + (K1 U K2))-minor-free graphs

Development, Validation, and Application of a Refrigerator Simulation Model

This report describes the further development and validation of the Refrigerator/Freezer Simulation (RFSIM) model. The reports also describes the first major application of the model as an analysis tool for new refrigerator designs; several aspects of multi-speed compressor operation were examined with the model. Several improvements were made to the model that facilitated the validation process and the examination of multi-speed compressors: the model was made more general so that it could operate in numerous configurations in addition to the original design and simulation modes; many improvements were made in the modeling logic and robustness of the capillary tube-suction line heat exchanger model; and the equation-of-statebased property routines that calculated the thermodynamic properties were replaced with interpolation routines that were much faster. The RFSIM model, in design and simulation mode, was validated with data from two refrigerators. In both modes, the average model errors were less than ??5% for several important variables such as evaporator capacity and coefficient of performance. The errors of the simulation mode were reduced from the previous model validation primarily by using a different void fraction correlation in the refrigerant charge equations. The results from the validated RFSIM model indicate that a two-speed compressor could yield energy savings of 4% to 14% due to the increased steady-state efficiency at the low speed and an additional 0.5 to 4% savings due to the decreased cycling frequency. The results also showed that the capillary tube-suction line heat exchanger, when designed for the low speed, did not adversely affect the pull-down capacity when the compressor operated at the high speed. Lastly, it was found that a refrigerator operating at low ambient temperatures could actually benefit from a decrease in the condenser fan speed. This change in fan speed increased the evaporator capacity by reallocating charge to the evaporator and subsequently reducing the superheat at the evaporator exit.Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Project 6

Record on Deals for Trade Votes: Don't Get Fooled Again - Lessons from NAFTA and China PNTR Deal-for-Vote Swapmeets

In this report, we follow up on the status of the NAFTA promises and the China Permanent Normal Relations (PNTR) promises which still had the possibility of being kept. (For instance, a promised fund-raiser is irrelevant once the Member is out of Congress.) Nearly eight years after the NAFTA deals were made and eighteen months after PNTR and promises for domestic programs remained unfunded. The special deals promised to obtain NAFTA and PNTR votes remain unfulfilled. Promises remain unmet even though the Members of Congress involved kept their end of the bargain and voted for NAFTA C some incurring long-lasting political ire at home. Many of the Administration's promises were delivered in formal letters to the target Members by Cabinet Secretaries or the President. Other deals were added into the NAFTA legislation in the House Rules Committee on the eve of the vote. While the letters of "commitment" have made tracking the deals somewhat easier, the letters proved to be worth less than the paper on which they were written. Promises in the NAFTA implementing legislation either were not funded or, in the case of safeguards for Florida fruits and vegetables, were not implemented. Over eight years, the Clinton Administration failed to deliver on the NAFTA vote-deals -- special funding for in-district projects and the policy-related promises to change U.S. regulation. Now, the Bush Administration is trying desperately to gin up support for the controversial Fast Track trade negotiating authority, bill H.R. 3005. Days before the vote, the measure is 40-plus votes short of passage, as critics of corporate managed trade have successfully demonstrated the woefully inadequate track record of NAFTA and the substantial failures of trade agreements to generate jobs, economic growth or protect the environment. The examination of the actual follow through of the deal-making necessary to secure NAFTA and PNTR votes reveals that promises on Fast Track also are unlikely to come to fruition. The Bush Administration's capacity to press Democrats on any spending plan after bailouts of the airlines, additional safeguards for insurers against terrorism losses and huge corporate tax breaks is rapidly eroding, making special pork barrel deals for Fast Track votes less likely to be fulfilled

Prison staff and the health promoting prison.

Purpose – This paper aims to discuss some of the obstacles to implementing policy and strategy related to health promoting prisons. It focuses on the role of prison officers and raises issues concerning their conditions of service, training and organisational culture in a situation where the prison system faces security issues, overcrowding and high levels of ill health among prisoners. Design/methodology/approach – This paper emerged as a result of significant overlapping themes between two separate studies conducted by the authors. The paper draws on the authors' qualitative data from these studies. Findings – The findings demonstrate the ambiguities and tensions in changing organisational cultures and among prison staff. Alongside the qualitative data, the paper draws on theory regarding policy implementation at the micro-level to show how staff can block or speed up that implementation. Practical implications – Prison officers are an essential part of health promoting prisons, but have been relatively ignored in the discussion of how to create healthier prisons. Originality/value – The contribution that prison staff make to creating health promoting prisons has been under-explored, yet pertinent theory can show how they can be more effectively involved in making changes in organisational culture