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The purpose of this research is to aim to use observation, linked to quantitative risk‐based scoring, to evaluate the effectiveness of a small‐scale consumer food safety initiative based on the social marketing approach. Evaluation of intervention effectiveness is considered to be an important component of any health education initiative. The ultimate goal for social marketing initiatives is sustained behavioural change. Thus, when determining the effectiveness of community‐based social marketing interventions, direct measurement of behaviour is advocated.

A small‐scale food safety strategy using targeted interventions was piloted in a geographical test community in South Wales, UK. Targeted consumers from the community prepared a set meal in a model domestic kitchen before, immediately after, and 4‐6 weeks after implementation of the strategy. Observations of meal preparations were made using CCTV and food‐handling behaviours were recorded and assessed using a risk‐based scoring system. A quantitative evaluation of overall and specific food safety behaviours was made, and an effect size analysis provided a measure of potential intervention effectiveness.

This pilot study suggested that “one‐off” food safety interventions developed and implemented using a social marketing approach may result in a short‐term improvement of consumer food safety behaviours. Interventions targeting specific food safety behaviours may produce a “halo effect” upon other food safety behaviours that are known, yet not consistently implemented during domestic food preparation. Intervention effect was greater immediately after implementation of the strategy than 4‐6 weeks later. Use of the risk‐based scoring system and observation techniques were effective for assessing food hygiene behaviours and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions.

The use of an observational risk‐based approach to assess consumer food safety behaviours can provide a valuable tool for evaluation of the estimated immediate and long‐term effectiveness of food safety interventions on a small scale prior to launch of a larger initiative.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent, sources, diversity, costs, formats and content of food safety educational interventions for consumers provided by UK Local Authorities (LAs). Inadequate implementation of food safety practices in the home is known to contribute to the incidence of foodborne disease and therefore effective food safety education concerning risks and correct domestic food‐handling behaviours is essential.

A postal questionnaire was administered to all Environmental Health and Health Promotion departments in LAs in 2004 (n=436). The questionnaire assessed the extent of LA provision of consumer food safety advice, types, formats and content of interventions, rationale for information provision, methods used for design and delivery of information and participation in national initiatives.

A considerable quantity of food safety advice is provided to UK consumers; in general this is variable between regions, variable in quality, infrequently evaluated and relatively uncoordinated. Overall, 95 per cent of UK LAs who responded to the questionnaire reported current provision of consumer food safety advice. The most common intervention used for provision of consumer hygiene information was leaflets (93 per cent of LAs) and data indicated that this is likely to continue. Hand‐washing (87 per cent), cross‐contamination (85 per cent) and cooking (77 per cent) were the most common issues reportedly addressed in hygiene initiatives. Less than a third of LAs reported evaluating the effectiveness of food hygiene advice.

This study has provided evidence of a large quantity of unique and diverse intervention materials across the UK, and suggests the need for the sharing of information materials and areas of innovation between LAs. Provision of generic, managed and co‐ordinated general and targeted food safety education resources in the UK may not only decrease important time and financial costs within LAs, but also increase consumer confidence in the accuracy of information provided and alleviate the risk for potential confusion of information from differing sources.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an effective approach to support and guide production improvement processes utilising online product reviews.

This paper combines two methods: (1) natural language processing (NLP) to support advanced text mining to increase the accuracy of information extracted from product reviews and (2) quality function deployment (QFD) to utilise the extracted information to guide the product improvement process.

The paper proposes an approach to automate the process of obtaining voice of the customer (VOC) by performing text mining on available online product reviews while considering key factors such as the time of review and review usefulness. The paper enhances quality management processes in organisations and advances the literature on customer-oriented product improvement processes.

Online product reviews are a valuable source of information for companies to capture the true VOC. VOC is then commonly used by companies as the main input for QFD to enhance quality management and product improvement. However, this process requires considerable time, during which VOC may change, which may negatively impact the output of QFD. This paper addresses this challenge by providing an improved approach.

Most of the literature of library consultancy has been written by practising consultants. It concentrates on what consultants require to do their job and their perceptions of the process. This paper describes from the Library staff's viewpoint the various steps in a particular automation consultancy study which took place in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Overseas Development Administration libraries in the first half of 1986, and attempts to draw some general conclusions from them.

There is evidence that many promising coalitions fail to thrive, languishing for indefinite periods and/or collapsing before achieving their goals. The purpose of the current study is to conduct a qualitative investigation of a local coalition established to build a healthy community.

Text analysis and thematic coding of coalition interviews over two separate time points provided first hand insights into the experiences of coalitions as they develop and begin to implement change.

Two overarching processes defined each phase, namely: establishing potential (development phase) and fulfilling purpose (implementation phase). At the development phase, critical considerations related to the themes of “The Local Context”, “Processes” and “Time”, whereas at the implementation phase, critical considerations were focused on “Programs”, “Information” and “Funding”. The data clearly supported a shift in attention among coalition members that could be used in a preventative manner by coalition managers.

Left unattended, these critical considerations may contribute to coalition under‐performance by compromising the functional integrity of the members and the entity as a whole. The processes identified in this paper offer a way of conceptualising what topics are critical to coalition members at different phases of the coalition life cycle.

The following are portions of a paper, bearing the title as above, which was read before the Royal Society of Arts on April 18th, 1945, by Sir Edward V. Appleton, LL.D., F.R.S., the Secretary of the Department; Sir Henry Dale, P.R.S., presiding.