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The action taken by the Council of the British Medical Association in promoting a Bill to reconstitute the Local Government Board will, it is to be hoped, receive the strong support of public authorities and of all who are in any way interested in the efficient administration of the laws which, directly or indirectly, have a bearing on the health and general well‐being of the people. In the memorandum which precedes the draft of the Bill in question it is pointed out that the present “Board” is not, and probably never was, intended to be a working body for the despatch of business, that it is believed never to have met that the work of this department of State is growing in variety and importance, and that such work can only be satisfactorily transacted with the aid of persons possessing high professional qualifications, who, instead of being, as at present, merely the servants of the “Board” tendering advice only on invitation, would be able to initiate action in any direction deemed desirable. The British Medical Association have approached the matter from a medical point of view—as might naturally have been expected—and this course of action makes a somewhat weak plank in the platform of the reformers. The fourth clause of the draft of the Bill proposes that there should be four “additional” members of the Board, and that, of such additional members, one should be a barrister or solicitor, one a qualified medical officer of health, one a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and one a person experienced in the administration of the Poor‐law Acts. The work of the Local Government Board, however, is not confined to dealing with medical, engineering, and Poor‐law questions, and the presence of one or more fully‐qualified scientific experts would be absolutely necessary to secure the efficient administration of the food laws and the proper and adequate consideration of matters relating to water supply and sewage disposal. The popular notion still exists that the “doctor” is a universal scientific genius, and that, as the possessor of scientific knowledge and acumen, the next best article is the proprietor of the shop in the window of which are exhibited some three or four bottles of brilliantly‐coloured liquids inscribed with mysterious symbols. The influence of these popular ideas is to be seen in the tendency often exhibited by public authorities and even occasionally by the legislature and by Government departments to expect and call upon medical men to perform duties which neither by training nor by experience they are qualified to undertake. Medical Officers of Health of standing, and medical men of intelligence and repute are the last persons to wish to arrogate to themselves the possession of universal knowledge and capacity, and it is unfair and ridiculous to thrust work upon them which can only be properly carried out by specialists. If the Local Government Board is to be reconstituted and made a thing of life—and in the public interest it is urgently necessary that this should be done—the new department should comprise experts of the first rank in all the branches of science from which the knowledge essential for efficient administration can be drawn.

The importance of sanitary conditions in the production, manufacture, and distribution of foods was never greater than to‐day, for less of the food consumed by the individual is produced and prepared at home than ever before; and likewise, the necessity for sanitary laws in regard to foods was never more keenly realised. The disclosures of the insanitary conditions in our packing houses, exaggerated in many instances, has aroused public indignation. The newspapers added fuel to the flame by rehashing every case in recent history containing anything gruesome or revolting in connection with the preparation of food products. These reports, appearing day after day in the newspapers, gave the public the false impression that the manufacture of human bodies into food products was a matter of not uncommon occurrence, and that insanitary conditions prevailed in the manufacture of most foods. The discussion was continued until not only this country, but Europe, looked with suspicion on the food products of the United States.

At a meeting of the Council of the Royal Borough of Kensington on February 12th, 1918, Councillor Dr. A. J. Rice‐Oxley, Chairman of the Public Health Committee, brought up a Report as follows :—

Observes that line managers are the group most concerned with success at their jobs. Looks at how being an effective line manager is of the utmost importance. Argues that managers cannot be counsellors but they need to build up counselling skills even though remaining a manager. Shows that line managers will not find counselling in the workplace comes easy for them.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which both formal and informal control, operating as a package, are implicated in responding to organisational change arising from the introduction of the Australian Federal Government’s Clean Energy Act (2011).

This investigation is based on a review of archival data, and semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 staff at different hierarchical levels within an Australian renewable energy company.

Although formal management control systems and informal control both played important roles in the organisation’s reorientation to organisational change, it was the latter form of control that predominated over the former. The influence of the prevailing organisational culture, however, was pivotal in orchestrating both formal and informal control efforts within this organisation.

This study contributes to management control theory and practice in two ways: first, it provides much needed empirical evidence about the ways in which management controls act as a package; second, it offers insights into the relative importance of the components of a management control package in the context of a particular organisational change. In addition, it responds to Laughlin’s (1991) call for empirical “flesh” to be added to the skeletal framework he advocates to make this conceptualisation of organisational change, “more meaningful”.

This paper aims to discuss an audit evaluation of a specialist independent mental health advocacy service based in the London Borough of Bexley.

The audit included qualitative interviews with ten service users, resident in two specialist forensic mental health and challenging behaviour units. All participants were long‐term in‐patient residents. A number of ethical issues required consideration, in particular respondent confidentiality and informed consent.

Findings indicate that the service's approach, which combines formal advocacy methods with a proactive ethos, had a positive impact on engagement. The importance of trust in the relationships between advocates and service users was also highlighted by the study and is discussed here. The audit also indicates a significant increase in self‐reported wellbeing, self‐efficacy and empowerment for participants. Given that enhancing personal empowerment is one of the primary objectives of the advocacy service, the positive wellbeing outcomes reported are encouraging.

The paper relies on a small number of individuals. There is no attempt to claim representativeness or endeavour to generalise from the findings.

It is recommended that, in the absence of a comprehensive national evidence base, the advocacy needs of patients in forensic and specialist settings be constantly reviewed. Additionally, further action research, to inform educational material and guides for advocacy in specialist settings, may be beneficial and timely.

As head of the European bureau of Meeting Planners International and marketing director of the European Federation of Conference Towns, Geoffrey Smith has checklists galore for assessing conference facilities and services. For selecting a hotel, he asks such questions as: How handy is it for airport transfers and road and rail arrivals? Is the car parking accommodation satisfactory? How many spaces are there? What public transport and taxi services are available? How many function rooms and sleeping rooms are there? How attractive is the price? What can be negotiated? Is it possible to benefit from seasonal and group rates? What other meetings are scheduled at the venue at the same time? (An overworked and exhausted staff is not desirable). Which hotel executive will be responsible for the event? Will he be easy to work with? Is the property handy for places which delegates or accompanying persons may want to visit — shops, entertainment, cultural attractions, restaurants, etc? Does it have a pool, gymnasium, sauna, nearby jogging, tennis, golf? Are the bar prices and hours acceptable? Will the hotel provide a special check‐in desk for your delegates, with quick service or pre‐booking? Will the meeting registration desk be well sited? What about in‐house restaurants, coffee shop, menus and prices? Does it cater for handicapped people? Are the halls and public rooms fresh and clean? Is the front office a cheerful place? Is the surrounding area safe at night? If the conference includes overseas delegates, do some staff speak their languages?

The purpose of this paper is to show how the rise in popularity of the recently elected President will have a beneficial effect or otherwise on the prosperity of the United States of America.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Shows how Obama's personal qualities have helped to get to the White house.

The most welcomed US president arrives at the same moment as one of the most economically uncertain times for decades. His handling of these affairs will be followed keenly by his allies and critics alike.

58. In addition to Government control the co‐operative societies have their own organisations for controlling the health of the cattle and improving the cleanliness and quality of the milk produced by their members. These organisations co‐operate closely with the Government Keuringsdienst van Waren (Food Control Service) and welcome the Government's efforts; they say, however, that they can do far more than the Government officials could do unaided since they are in very intimate touch with the farmers, and have behind them the power to pay the farmer a lower price for his milk or to refuse it entirely, or expel him from the Society; these possibilities have greater compelling force than the necessarily more formal official methods of procedure and the threat of legal proceedings.

This, the ninth annual survey of American history reference sources, comprises reviews of twenty 1985 imprints. The largest categories are bibliographies and encyclopedias (in which there are, respectively, five and four entries), followed by atlases, collective biographies, and dictionaries (two each), and one each of the following: a chronology, a directory, a document collection, a reference guide, and a statistical compendium.