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Looks at the Bradford retail market area in terms of workplace, bus service and local newspaper circulation in order to measure the intensity of market linkages between Bradford's central shopping area and various parts of its shopping catchment area. Examines the distribution of shops and geographical differences of shopping turnover. Investigates the income characteristics of the Bradford retail market area.

A probabilistic mechanism is proposed to describe various forms of the Bradford phenomenon reported in bibliometric research. This leads to a stochastic process termed the Waring process, a special case of which seems to conform with the general features of ‘Bradford's Law’. The presence of a time parameter in the model emphasises that we are considering dynamic systems and allows the possibility of predictions being made.

The Bradford law is explored theoretically by means of a very mixed Poisson model which, it is claimed, elucidates the uncertainties surrounding the law and its applications. It is argued that Bradford succeeded in formulating an empirical regularity which has pure and hybrid forms but that all the variants can be subsumed under a simple logarithmic law which, for reasons explained, escapes exact expression in conventional frequency terms. The theoretical aspects discussed include the hybridity of form, estimations, sampling problems, the stability of ranks, homogeneity of data, and tests of significance. Some numerical examples, some simulated and some drawn from social contexts outside bibliography, are used both to illustrate theoretical issues and also to indicate the wide generality of the Bradford law. Possible applications and developments of the theory are indicated.

It is argued that the powerful techniques of OR operate on only a small fraction of the statistical information that the social sciences usually provide. This argument is illustrated by Leimkuhler's recent claim to have found an ‘exact’ fit to the Bradford law. An elementary theorem of Shannon information theory shows that his new function is applied to only 2·3% of the statistical information inherent in the bibliography he chooses and that Bradford's original simple formulation not only fits this segment but also the whole bibliography more closely than the new formulation. As every loss of statistical information can be measured, it can be shown that sophisticated mathematical techniques cannot compensate for the information they squander.

This exploratory research examines how corporate communications can influence stakeholder perceptions to enhance or detract from the city as a brand. It uses the UK city of Bradford as a case study and adopts theoretical concepts of product and corporate branding. Balmer's AC²ID test of corporate identity is applied to identify gaps in the City's official communications strategy, revealing conflicting messages between local government policy and different stakeholder groups. This analysis points to the need for positive visual evidence of change, such as an improved built environment in the city centre. The analysis may have value for policy‐makers in the UK and elsewhere who seek to improve community and stakeholder relationships. This research may also help to promote an honest approach towards branding cities as well as providing the potential for an enhanced brand value.

Participation in community programmes by the Roma community is low, whilst this community presents with high risk of poor health and low levels of wellbeing. To improve rates of participation in programmes, compatibility must be achieved between implementation efforts and levels of readiness in the community. The Community Readiness Model (CRM) is a widely used toolkit which provides an indication of how prepared and willing a community is to take action on specific issues. The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a CRM assessment for the Eastern European Roma community in Bradford, UK, on issues related to nutrition and obesity.

The authors interviewed key respondents identified as knowledgeable about the Roma community using the CRM. This approach applies a mixed methodology incorporating readiness scores and qualitative data. A mean community readiness score was calculated enabling researchers to place the community in one of nine possible stages of readiness. Interview transcripts were analysed using a qualitative framework analysis to generate the contextual information.

An overall score consistent with vague awareness was achieved, which indicates a low level of community readiness. This score suggests that there will be a low likelihood of participation in currently available nutrition and obesity programmes.

To our knowledge, this is the first study to apply the CRM in the Roma community for any issue. The authors present the findings for each of the six dimensions that make up the CRM together with salient qualitative findings.

BUSINESS SCHOOL GRAFFITI is a highly personal and revealing account of the first ten years (1965–1975) at Britain’s University Business Schools. The progress achieved is documented in a whimsical fashion that makes it highly readable. Gordon Wills has been on the inside throughout the decade and has played a leading role in two of the major Schools. Rather than presuming to present anything as pompous as a complete history of what has happened, he recalls his reactions to problems, issues and events as they confronted him and his colleagues. Lord Franks lit a fuse which set a score of Universities and even more Polytechnics alight. There was to be a bold attempt to produce the management talent that the pundits of the mid‐sixties so clearly felt was needed. Buildings, books, teachers who could teach it all, and students to listen and learn were all required for the boom to happen. The decade saw great progress, but also a rapid decline in the relevancy ethic. It saw a rapid withering of interest by many businessmen more accustomed to and certainly desirous of quick results. University Vice Chancellors, theologians and engineers all had to learn to live with the new and often wealthier if less scholarly faculty members who arrived on campus. The Research Councils had to decide how much cake to allow the Business Schools to eat. Most importantly, the author describes the process of search he went through as an individual in evolving a definition of his own subject and how it can best be forwarded in a University environment. It was a process that carried him from Technical College student in Slough to a position as one of the authorities on his subject today.

Haitun has recently shown that empirical distributions are of two types—‘Gaussian’ and ‘Zipfian’—characterized by the presence or absence of moments. Gaussian‐type distributions arise only in physical contexts: Zipfian only in social contexts. As the whole of modern statistical theory is based on Gaussian distributions, Haitun thus shows that its application to social statistics, including cognitive statistics, is ‘inadmissible’. A new statistical theory based on ‘Zipfian’ distributions is therefore needed for the social sciences. Laplace's notorious ‘law of succession’, which has evaded derivation by classical probability theory, is shown to be the ‘Zipfian’ frequency analogue of the Bradford law. It is argued that these two laws together provide the most convenient analytical instruments for the exploration of social science data. Some implications of these findings for the quantitative analysis of information systems are briefly discussed.

Without effective support and intervention, young people with learning disabilities and severe challenging behaviour are at risk of placement in out-of-area residential settings or highly specialist child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) units. Such placements may be inappropriate and result in significant reductions to the quality of life of young people and their families. This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Bradford positive behaviour support (PBS) service model in terms of its aims to improve quality of life, develop skills and maintain children living with their families in their own homes.

A service evaluation using quantitative and qualitative data from a range of sources to review the effectiveness of the PBS model being applied in Bradford and Calderdale was the methodology used.

When consistently implemented, the Bradford positive behaviour support–in reach service may improve quality of life, facilitate skill development in young people and their carers and reduce placements in residential and CAMHS inpatient units. Avoidance of such placements is likely to reduce the overall costs of service commissioning in Bradford.

This paper evaluates a novel approach being applied by a third sector agency to implement effective PBS with a small group of children, their families and networks. There is scope for this model to be successfully implemented in other areas.

Any statistical regularities found in documentation should be fully exploited to produce estimates or predictions and to save documentalists work. But present formulations of the Bradford distribution demand penetrating search for peripheral papers and tedious computation in application. The present paper shows that the Bradford distribution is closely related to the Zipf distribution. It requires data on only the most productive journals, is mathematically simple and amenable to graphical methods if a proposed idea of the ‘completeness’ of a search is accepted. For comparability of results, certain conditions, which include a specified minimum level of productivity of journals, need to be standardized. A standard form is suggested. It is found, however, that a modified form of the Bradford distribution is required when Bradford‐type collections of journals are merged into larger collections, when ‘saturation’ of the most productive journals occurs.