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From the authors′ research in database marketing (DBM) it seems that a number of factors contributing to successful DBM can be identified. This research, allied with a review of work in DBM, leads to the conclusion that four main factors can be identified in successful database marketing. The study consisted of 25 in‐depth interviews with key users and suppliers and provides some empirical support for the views put forward.

Based on the scanning modes of Scottish exporters of construction services, the authors conclude that significant deficiencies exist in information flows within firms. The need for mixed scanning is recommended, combining objective knowledge with experiential knowledge. Consortia may be a solution to the information and intelligence gathering problems of smaller firms.

Aims to substantiate a previous study conducted in 1960 which explored the links between work and non‐work activities. Three types of links between leisure and work activity were proposed: compensation, spillover and segmental participation. Reports on a 1992 survey which examined the links observed from data gathered from 301 managers. There is evidence to support the view that segmental participation is the main link and that compensation and spillover are the minor links. Analysis of the percentages, modes and correlations all suggest that independent management development is edged to the margins by each link and in distinctive ways.

Field theory is waxing in the sociology of science, and Pierre Bourdieu’s work is especially influential. His characterization of field structure and dynamics has been especially valuable in drawing attention to hierarchical and center-periphery relations in science and technology, and to the stability and reproduction of science and technology practices. What field theory does less well, however, is to capture the existence of multiple (including marginal) logics around a given sociotechnical object. Nor does it capture the dynamics of a specific logic of neoliberal capitalism in the US: the cultural and economic value of entrepreneurship that emphasizes the continual reconfiguration of social relations, which has its roots in a longer US history of progress-through-reinvention, and is abetted by new technologies designed to continually “update” and remix. Much better at capturing these qualities, we argue, is an institutionalist theory in which dynamism, not stasis, is foregrounded, and there is room for multiple, contradictory, and non-cognitive logics to co-exist. Using the expansion of “alternative nutrition” in the US, we show that its formation took place via the conjunction of parallel streams of social action that encompassed diverse logics and encouraged creativity and hybridity. More generally, variability in field stability and qualities, not static fields, deserve analytic attention.

Whether we think of management training as a defensive strategy or as a missionary strategy, we need some way of relating our methods of teaching individual skills to what we deem to be the needs of the organization. The idea put forward here is that the successful manager and the successful organization deal effectively with information by varying their behaviour in accordance with certain attributes of the information itself. Those who teach problem solving techniques have tended to emphasize the value of a systematic intellectual approach, and those who teach interpersonal skills have tended to emphasize authentic social relations. These criteria are not the only ones, however, and may even be dysfunctional at times. There are occasions when, for example, imaginative thinking or diplomatic behaviour are needed. The volume of information, its complexity, and the degree to which it is restricted, may provide some indication as to which criteria should be applied. These same information characteristics may also point beyond the exercise of individual skills to the climates of opinion and organization structures which individuals create by their collective activity. The relationships suggested have not been fully established by research, but are consonant with much that has been written on the subject.

The purpose of this paper is to build a conceptual framework helping to understand the relationship between the principle of multilateralism in global policy relations and the role of international governmental organizations (IGOs). The paper develops conceptual building blocks to design adequate for international organizations for result-oriented effective multilateralism.

Literature review and in-depth theoretical analysis served to construct a framework that helps to see the variety of IGOs against global policy problems they serve to solve.

The analysis highlighted several lessons that can be learned, including the need for an efficient match between the nature of the global policy problem and the mandate and the size of IGO. The paper indicated the importance of efficient mechanisms to make international organizations accountable to member states while allowing for effective leadership.

The heterogeneity of IGOs makes a generalization difficult, hence, the proposed framework necessarily remains relatively generic. Still, this paper provides a first analytical basis for the comparison of IGO with regard to global policy problems they have been set to solve.

The author pointed to the way how to improve the fit between global policy problems and IGOs to make multilateralism more effective. The framework can be used to learn what can be expected from a given IGO and to see IGOs in their proper roles.

The paper might of interest to decision-makers and international public opinion eager to either criticize or praise international organizations based on a simplistic, if not ideological approaches. The paper develops arguments that help influence the evolution of international organizations.

IGO are increasing in number and forms leading to confusion to their role and impact. This framework can be used to realistically assess the role of IGOs in global public policies.

Nonlinear solution approaches for inverse problems require fast simulation techniques for the underlying sensing problem. In this work, the authors investigate finite element (FE) based sensor simulations for the inverse problem of electrical capacitance tomography. Two known computational bottlenecks are the assembly of the FE equation system as well as the computation of the Jacobian. Here, existing computation techniques like adjoint field approaches require additional simulations. This paper aims to present fast numerical techniques for the sensor simulation and computations with the Jacobian matrix.

For the FE equation system, a solution strategy based on Green’s functions is derived. Its relation to the solution of a standard FE formulation is discussed. A fast stiffness matrix assembly based on an eigenvector decomposition is shown. Based on the properties of the Green’s functions, Jacobian operations are derived, which allow the computation of matrix vector products with the Jacobian for free, i.e. no additional solves are required. This is demonstrated by a Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno-based image reconstruction algorithm.

MATLAB-based time measurements of the new methods show a significant acceleration for all calculation steps compared to reference implementations with standard methods. E.g. for the Jacobian operations, improvement factors of well over 100 could be found.

The paper shows new methods for solving known computational tasks for solving inverse problems. A particular advantage is the coherent derivation and elaboration of the results. The approaches can also be applicable to other inverse problems.

During the months of May and June of 2002, interviews and surveys were conducted with over 30 high‐level private, public, academic and non‐profit sector leaders from around the world to discuss the development and impact of regional e‐commerce initiatives. Three pioneers in this arena were analyzed: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Asia‐Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the European Union (EU). The motivation, objectives, design, structure and implementation of their respective e‐commerce programs were explored, with an eye toward uncovering the visible and invisible challenges and opportunities. This paper presents a set of high‐level principles which guided and influenced these initiatives and that can serve as a reference for other organizations considering regional e‐commerce needs.

The Shipbuilding Industry Training Board and the Skills Testing Service of the City and Guilds of London Institute, in cooperation with a number of leading shipyards, have developed phased test programmes for eight of the principal craft trades in the shipbuilding and shiprepairing industry. These tests are intended for trainee craftsmen who have completed their first year's training off‐the‐job in a training centre and are undergoing planned experience training in their yards to the standard recommended by the Shipbuilding Industry Training Board. The tests cover the trades of electrician, fitter, joiner, pipeworker, sheet‐metal worker, caulker/burner/driller/riveter, plater/shipwright and welder. A test programme covers all the main tasks or key skills normally performed by skilled men in the trade. Each job test is assessed according to success or failure in covering its essential features. Tests are taken by trainees in the course of production in the yard and are assessed by production staff. The preparation of each set of tests began with a study in a shipyard to find out what work a trainee would be expected to cover during his planned experience training. The test jobs drawn up as a result of this study were carefully scrutinised by production supervisors from other shipbuilding and shiprepair yards. A number of firms were invited to conduct a pilot project using the tests for a number of trainees in their second, third and fourth years of training. The tests were amended in the light of reports received on these projects and grouped to cover the key skills involved. An assessment was then made of either the number of jobs or the particular jobs, the satisfactory completion of which was considered to be essential to qualify for the Board's Certificate of Craftsmanship. This project, which was begun in November 1969 and completed in March 1972, and involved some eighteen firms in the industry, is described in the following account provided by some of the people involved.