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The aim of the study described here was to assess the types of additional specialist service available to adoptive parents participating in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of post‐adoption support whose ex‐care children were showing substantial psychosocial problems. Parents from 37 families who volunteered for the RCT were asked about access to professional help with problems arising from the placement, additional to the tested support: questions focused on which services they had received, how long they waited and whether the services were, in their terms, satisfactory. The study found that 23 families had used or applied for 37 separate specialised services to support the child or family. Although 56% of families were positive about services, 12 families had waited more than a year for a first contact with specialists and 44% of parents said the services had not met their needs. The experiences of these parents show that more timely and targeted services are needed for adoptive families with a child with psychosocial problems.

The problems of urban distribution and the need to confront them particularly at a time of escalating petrol costs, is one of the most urgent issues facing retailers and food suppliers today. Hence the conference held recently, organised by the National Materials Handling Centre, and entitled ‘Urban distribution — strategy for the future’. One of the major preoccupations was the conflict of interests which impedes progress; environmental lobbies, central and local planning, EEC legislation. However, this paper by Alan Rushton buries these differences beneath his overriding concern with the practical rather than the ideological aspect of the subject. His point of reference is a study which looked into the problems of high street delivery, producing a scale of importance for the various difficulties encountered, and assessing the likely success of the solutions available.

Logistics strategy planning has often been undertaken either as a qualitative overview or as a self‐contained mathematical exercise, considering facility location, facility size and mode of transport. Here, the importance of evaluating the logistics alternatives in parallel with all other business considerations is developed as a standard approach. The role of computerized models for optimization and simulation is shown to be still an important part of the process. The use of the approach is illustrated by a case study considering the logistics of sourcing, manufacture, storage and supply of bulk chemical products throughout the whole of Europe. The alignment of logistics strategy with the business objectives is stressed as a key factor for success.

This paper reports on a prospective study of 44 cases of alleged abuse of vulnerable adults referred under a joint vulnerable adults policy. The authors examine attitudes to policy, special training and joint working, re‐abuse, continuing risk and the outcome of legal proceedings. The implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations made.

With the broadening interest in logistics the need for appropriate professional qualifications is growing. But, there are major problems in the cross‐boundary nature of the topic and the desire for international recognition of any qualification. These problems were addressed at the Logistics Education Forum called and chaired by Martin Christopher, professor of Marketing and Logistics Systems in the School of Management, Cranfield Institute of Technology, prior to the 7th International Logistics Congress.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the origins, members, activities, and influence of the Ratio Club, a British cybernetic dining club that met between 1949 and 1958. Although its membership included some of the best known British cyberneticists, such as Grey Walter and Ross Ashby, along with pioneering scientists such as Alan Turing, the club is poorly documented, and its significance is difficult to establish from published sources.

The approach involved the consultation and analysis of unpublished material in both private and public archives in the UK and the USA, coupled with interviews with surviving members, guests, and contemporaries.

The Ratio Club grew out of a distinctively British strand of cybernetic activity that was mainly fuelled by the deployment of biologists to engineering activities during the Second World War. It was also strongly influenced by the approach of the psychologist Kenneth Craik. Although members were keenly aware of contemporary American developments, such as Wiener's approach to the mathematics of control, and the psychological and sociological concerns of the Macy Conference, the emphasis of the club was on the application of cybernetic ideas and information theory to biology and the brain. In contrast to the wide influence the later Macy conferences exercised through their published transcripts, the Ratio Club influenced its core disciplines though its members, several of whom became prominent and effective advocates of the cybernetic approach.

This is the first journal paper to give an authoritative, detailed, and accurate account of the club's origins, activities, and importance.

The purpose of this paper is to consider mental health issues in children and adolescents with chronic illness or health conditions, including their treatment, and issues related to delivery of services.

A selective review of the literature was conducted to highlight significant mental health issues and their treatment in youth with various types of chronic illness.

A significant portion of youth experience mental health problems related to their chronic health conditions. While evidence-based treatments are available to address these problems, significant barriers exist that impede the delivery of psychological and behavioral interventions for many youth.

More controlled studies are needed to demonstrate the effectiveness and cost offset of delivering psychological and behavioral interventions for the population of youth with various types of chronic health conditions, particularly in clinical and community settings.

Policy reform can ensure that mental health issues are effectively addressed for children with chronic illness. Policy is needed that promotes integrated health care, whereby psychological and behavioral interventions are delivered in health care settings along with medical interventions to reduce barriers to care.

Significant numbers of children and adolescents have chronic health conditions and many experience mental health problems related to their conditions. While evidence-based treatments are available to address these problems, significant barriers impede the delivery of psychological and behavioral interventions for many youth. Health care policy promoting integrated health care to deliver psychological and behavioral interventions in health care settings along with medical interventions should reduce barriers to care and improve both physical and mental health outcomes for youth.