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Describes a quality team programme established within an NHS Hospital in the West Midlands in 1989, and presents the findings of a questionnaire survey of 28 quality team leaders. Discusses some of the programme′s implementation and operational characteristics; and it emerges that there are very few differences between them vis‐À‐vis a quality circle programme. Suspension of individual quality teams is due to (1) the lack of time to meet; (2) a lack of funding; (3) a lack of management support; or (4) lack of training.

Describes different types of secondment in quality assurance. Addresses the social and occupational characteristics of the associated roles. Demonstrates that the benefits of secondment outweigh the limitations. Suggests that changes in the health care system are providing continuous scope for secondment and that this, therefore, should be taken advantage of.

Describes a method to assist in the achievement of Patient Charter standards. Service Protocols are multi‐disciplinary in their approach and can be used as a one‐off approach or in conjunction with other quality assurance methods. Gives an example of a Service Protocol applied to an out‐patient department and discusses the benefits of the method for this and other services.

This paper aims to critique the rationalist theoretical framework of international mediation, which ignores emotions in analyzing the decision by conflict parties to pursue a negotiated settlement or continue fighting, and to present an alternative framework that integrates emotions.

The paper draws on psychology research on emotions and conflict to develop an emotionally informed framework for analyzing conflict parties’ decision-making regarding a settlement. It demonstrates the framework’s validity and value through a case study of the 2000 Camp David mediation to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

A rationalist approach to mediation does not have adequate explanatory and predictive power theoretically. In practice, it can reduce the prospect of success.

The paper highlights the necessity for mediation researchers to study the effects of emotion, draw on psychology studies on conflict and explore the emotional implications of different mediation strategies and tactics.

The framework highlights the challenge of designing and conducting mediation in a way that cultivates emotions favorable to a settlement and lessens emotions unfavorable to a settlement.

This is the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to critique the rationalist framework of international mediation studies and develop an alternative framework that integrates emotions.

W. Edwards Deming was revered as a technical genius in the areas of mathematics, statistics, and statistical variation. Though largely known for his professional achievements, the core of Deming was his quality of character. He was raised by his parents under austere conditions in the heartland of the USA. The values ingrained in him by his parents included spiritual beliefs, a love of learning, devotion to family, commit‐ment to friends, and a strong work ethic. With an intense loyalty and love for his wife and children, he balanced his life so that family remained a priority. An accomplished writer of music, a grammarian, and a person with spiritual interests, Deming was much more than a public figure recognized as an icon of the “quality” movement.

A series of consultations with eight‐ and nine‐year‐old children in three schools in England and Wales are set out. The aim of the consultation was to determine how children view the world of cooking and food. A technique called draw and write was used to ascertain the views of the young people. The reports from the children in this survey display a disparate food culture. The Wales and Herefordshire schools showed a greater propensity for chips and fried foods as the mainstay of many meals, but this inclination was less evident in the London school. Overall the research suggests a lot of commonality, but also differences between the schools in terms of how food culture is interpreted geographically.