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Australian sales of hyperpalatable beverages (HPB) (a term used to describe naturally or artificially sweet beverages) have followed a consistent upward trend since 2000. The purpose of this paper is to examine HPB brand placements in the top 20 annual highest grossing movies in Australia in 2010-2014.

A content analysis was undertaken on the 20 highest grossing movies annually from 2010 to 2014. Movies were analysed according to the prevalence and portrayal of branded beverages.

In total, 35 per cent of movies contained an HPB brand placement. Movies were more likely to be classified M, MA15+, R/R18+, and categorised as comedy, or action/adventure genre. Soft drinks were the most prevalent category (60.9 per cent), and Coca Cola Company manufactured 40.6 per cent of the brands that were embedded throughout the movies.

This study revealed some of industry’s non-direct marketing strategies through HPB placement in movies. Findings suggest that further scrutiny is needed of the relatively underresearched medium of beverage advertising.

The appearance of a rapidly expanding range of ready-to-drink packaged beverages in the marketplace has been met with widespread consumer acceptance. The aim of this study is to profile the nutritional composition and dental erosive potential of a sample of beverages sold for consumption in Brisbane supermarkets.

In all, 44 beverages were assessed to determine their pH and titratable acidity. Information relating to nutritional composition was also collected.

Milk-based beverages had the highest energy concentration, while soft drinks, energy drinks, flavoured milk, and fruit and vegetable juice categories contained products with very high sugar concentrations (>10g/100ml). All beverages, except milk-based products and still water, had a pH of less than 4.8. Titratable acidity was highest for energy drinks and fruit and vegetable juices.

Energy drinks and fruit and vegetable juices had the highest sugar content and titratable acidity of all the beverage categories and so would be expected to have the greatest potential to cause oral health problems. Milk drinks had the highest energy concentration, but the lowest erosive potential. Regular consumption of many ready-to-drink pre-packaged beverages is therefore inconsistent with recommendations in current dietary and oral health guidelines.

Rather than considering nutritional composition alone, this study examined both nutritional and physicochemical properties of ready-to-drink packaged beverages to reach a more holistic assessment of their health impact.

This article is not a comprehensive account of the University of Bradford issue system. It is an attempt to highlight some of the distinguishing features, setting them in the context of a brief description of the system. The data collection equipment and the linking of multiple copies is described in detail, while much of the rest of the system, similar to others elsewhere, is only outlined.

The purpose of this paper is to inform education of non-mental health professionals who provide care to people with severe mental illness; to describe dentistry students’ knowledge and views about mental illness, including willingness to engage in various social situations with a person hospitalised for mental illness; and to assess and understand the impact of a targeted lecture on views and attitudes.

The paper employed mixed methods to examine dental students’ knowledge and views about mental disorder before and after a seminar covering mental disorder, disadvantage and oral health. Findings from a bespoke questionnaire administered to third-year dental students were triangulated with qualitative data gathered in interviews with a subsample.

Students understood mental disorder broadly, employing diverse causal models. Although knowledge was typically grounded in media stereotypes, attitudes were benevolent and most students reported willingness to provide dental care to affected individuals. The seminar, especially the consumer delivered section, was valued and associated with increased appreciation of the impact of mental disorder on oral health and need for assertive action to promote access to care. However, students reported being reluctant to disclose their own mental health problems for fear of being considered a professional or personal failure. A minority knew how to seek support if a friend talked of suicide.

This study highlights the need for further investigation of the knowledge and attitudes of dentistry students pertinent to provision of care to people with mental illness and to examine the links between attitudes and practice. The paper also provides a useful foundation for development of brief educational interventions, particularly the value in integrating the service user perspective, and their evaluation. Research should also examine the impact of mental health education on practice.

A single inexpensive educational session, such as the one the paper developed may support reconsideration of often unconscious views of mental illness which might affect practice.

If people with mental illness are to receive equitable access to health care, non-mental health professionals should be supported to develop knowledge and attitudes which are conducive to inclusive treatment. An education session such as this could be helpful.

There is scant literature examining attitudes of dentistry students and no reports of mental health-specific education with this population.

An eclectic view of organisational performance is presented and the ability of mass media to influence it is addressed. A number of cases are considered in the light of this including Northampton Healthcare NHS Trust and the American Electric Power system. Comments are presented in relation to a number of organisations including General Motors, The Inland Revenue and Shell UK. Concludes that communication is a core competence activity in performance management.

Power has become an important contextual factor in electronic commerce adoption. Persuading trading partners can mean using persuasive power. Hence, the way power is used to influence trading partners will determine the extent to which trust is encouraged during the adoption and integration process. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the impact of power in EDI adoption. The findings of a case study within an automotive manufacturer indicate that negative (coercive) power left smaller suppliers in a situation of uncertainty, and even conflict, whereas positive (persuasive) power resulted in open communications between smaller suppliers and their buyers, thus building trading partner trust and long‐term trading relationships.

Inter‐organizational‐systems such as EDI have been the main form of business to business e‐commerce application in the automotive industry for the last two decades. However, previous studies in EDI adoption mostly examined environmental, organizational and technological factors. This study examines behavioral dimensions of trading partner trust in EDI adoption via a qualitative interpretative case study conducted between an automotive manufacturer and their first tier supplier. While trading partner trust was observed to be an implicit factor embedded in pre‐arranged contractual agreements, the findings of this study suggests that trading partner trust is important for cooperative long term trading relationships and contributes to increased awareness on the importance of trading partner trust in EDI adoption.

Increasingly, post credit crunch, organisations are seeking to develop new ways of attracting, recruiting and retaining staff in the UK high street for less or even no financial reward. The aim of this paper is to investigate volunteerism and volunteer management, based on an exploratory case study of two British Red Cross (BRC) shops. It also aims to examine the reasons why people volunteer and why they keep doing so in the context of BRC, as a charitable organisation.

An exploratory case was used to gain an insight into how BRC recruit and retain volunteer staff. This was achieved by interviewing volunteers and the shop management personnel. An overview of BRC structures, strategic direction and views on volunteerism is also developed as part of the case study.

Exploratory findings from the research show that people decide to volunteer mainly for a variety of reasons such as social interaction, to carry out work that is valued in the local community and for self‐satisfaction. Volunteer satisfaction is derived from helping BRC to help others and also being part of The Red Cross. Volunteer retention is attributed to a proactive management style in terms of creating a favourable work environment. The shop manager's leadership skills are crucial in establishing a friendly and positive attitude towards volunteers. In addition, youth volunteers are attracted in order to gain work experience and learn new skills.

The study is exploratory, based on preliminary interview findings from 17 informants in two BRC shops. However, the insight gained helps in understanding the reasons why volunteerism is successful within the BRC.

The paper can help policy makers reflect and decide on useful tactics and strategy for developing and improving volunteer management within the retail sector.

There is a paucity of literature in relation to retailing and volunteerism and this study contributes to the literature by identifying reasons why this charity has been so successful in attracting and retaining volunteers.

The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.

According to the Irish writer, Oscar Wilde, a second marriage is the “triumph of hope over experience”. Many mergers and acquisitions (M&As) could be cast in the same light. This paper aims to outline four crucial questions senior managers should ask before embarking on a merger or acquisition.

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

Repeated studies have found that more than 50 per cent of M&As destroy rather than create value. Companies wishing to embark upon a merger or acquisition should thus think carefully before signing and ensure that they have made an impartial and critical analysis of the price, financing of the deal, complementarity and the cultural differences between the two organisations. If senior managers did this systematically before popping the question, the business world would certainly see less heartbreak.

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organisations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.