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The purpose of this paper is to establish the effectiveness of a new system for communicating energy balance on food labels.

A quantitative approach was taken to enquire into the ability of children and adolescents to understand the marketing communications contained on an existing food label in order to design a new system to rapidly communicate the concept of energy balance to a diverse market in terms that are appropriate and understandable.

There is a gap between the perceived ability of children and adolescents to understand food label information relating to the ingestion of a healthy diet and their demonstrable ability to so do. Through a novel combination of existing theoretical approaches, children and adolescents were able to understand energy balance more clearly than before.

The qualitative and quantitative samples were small and not representative of the larger sample. Future research needs to be undertaken to improve the reliability of the outcomes.

Designing information systems based on the interests of target audiences can enhance their inclusiveness and usefulness.

The programme of work undertaken to deliver this paper is highly original. The value of the paper is that it initiates a whole new area of research. It is of value to anyone working in marketing communications, and social marketing in particular.

This pilot study for a larger research project aims to quantify and categorise elements of food label information and establishes an indicative physical relationship between mandatory and other information thereby articulating the relative balance between information intended to inform healthy dietary choices and that intended to perform other functions such as aiding purchase decisions.

The methodology employs quantitative content analysis performed on a number of different canned food labels (n=9).

Findings indicate the amount of available space on labels devoted to mandatory information ranged between 17 and 31 per cent, whilst the amount allocated to commercial information ranged between 18 and 45 per cent. Unoccupied space varies between 32 and 54 per cent. This indicates there is an imbalance between mandatory and commercial information, with the weighting in favour of the latter.

The small sample size precludes generalization.

An extended version of this research could influence government and corporate policy in establishing a balance between the prominence given to different categories of label information, favouring that which is more “health positive”. Alternately, information could be presented in a larger format, thereby assisting a wider range of consumers to make healthy and informed dietary choices: both outcomes have positive health implications for the population. Another outcome is the formal classification of label information elements thereby enabling clearer comparisons to be made between consumers' food label interactions.

This is the first time content analysis has been conducted on food labels. The paper is also unique in proposing a formal taxonomy for food label information. It has value for those working on policy issues.

The purpose of this paper is to review Olympic mascots in the electronic and traditional communications environments.

Olympic mascots from 2006 to 2012 are analyzed using a descriptive semiotic analysis technique.

Results found that none of the 2006-2012 mascots clearly represented the two most recognizable icons of the Olympic movement, the Olympic Rings and the Olympic Flame. The association of the London 2012 mascots with the Olympic Games are found to be limited.

This research sets the stage for a number of future studies to further assess the management issues, social benefits, and potential missteps regarding mascots at the Olympic Games and other mega-events.

The practitioner of today working for a mega-event like the Olympic Games needs to be aware of the potential benefits and inherent risks of developing and implementing a mascot.

This research is the first to look specifically at Olympic mascots in the electronic age and contrast their use to traditional communications.

Complex systems adapt to survive, but little comparative literature exists on various approaches. Adaptive complex systems are generic, this referring to propositions concerning their bounded instability, adaptability and viability. Two classes of adaptive complex system theories exist: hard and soft. Hard complexity theories include Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) and Viability Theory, and softer theories, which we refer to as Viable Systems Theories (VSTs), that include Management Cybernetics at one extreme and Humanism at the other. This paper has a dual purpose distributed across two parts. In Part 1, the purpose of this paper is to identify the conditions for the complementarity of the two classes of theory. In Part 2, the purpose is to explore (in part using Agency Theory) the two classes of theory and their proposed complexity continuum.

A detailed analysis of the literature permits a distinction between hard and softer approaches towards modelling complex social systems. Hard theories are human-incommensurable, while soft ones are human-commensurable, therefore more closely related to the human condition. The characteristics that differentiate between hard and soft approaches are identified.

Hard theories are more restrictive than the softer theories. The latter can embrace degrees of “softness” and it is explained how hard and soft approaches can be mixed, sometimes creating Harmony.

There are very few explorations of the relationship between hard and soft approaches to complexity theory, and even fewer that draw in the notion of harmony.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an innovative and integrated approach based on service quality measurement (SERVQUAL), quality function deployment (QFD) and failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) for service quality improvement.

The SERVQUAL scale is used for service quality measurement, QFD is used for service design and FMEA is used to prevent possible failures during service delivery.

A case study in a public hospital in Turkey is performed to show how the proposed approach works in practice. The results of the study show that the proposed approach can be used effectively to assess service quality in practice.

Service quality has become an important issue for service enterprises facing a fiercely competitive environment to provide sustainability. This is the first study that applies an integrated methodology based on SERVQUAL scale, QFD and FMEA to service quality improvement.

The purpose of this paper is to present data about the experiences of adults with learning disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic across the UK.

Interviews were conducted with 609 adults with learning disabilities. Family carers and support staff of another 351 adults with learning disabilities completed a proxy online survey. The data were collected between December 2020 and February 2021 and concerned both worries/negatives and anything positive that had happened because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Social isolation was the most commonly reported worry/negative for adults with learning disabilities, with other frequently reported worries/negatives including: changes to/loss of routine; loss of support/services; and decreased health/well-being/fitness. A large proportion of participants indicated that nothing positive had happened because of COVID-19, but some positives were reported, including: digital inclusion; more time spent with important people; improved health/well-being/fitness; and, a slower pace of life.

Future pandemic planning must ensure that adults with learning disabilities are supported to maintain social contact with the people who matter to them and to support their health and well-being (including maintaining access to essential services and activities). Some adults with learning disabilities may benefit from additional support to improve their digital confidence and access. This may in turn enable them to maintain contact with family, friends and support services/activities.

This is the largest study about the experiences of adults with learning disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. The authors primarily collected data directly from adults with learning disabilities and worked with partner organisations of people with learning disabilities throughout the study.

This article examines the locus of power in the large corporation (The East India Company) over a 125 year period and the career paths of two of its dominant players (Laurence Sulivan and James Mill). Sulivan embodies the character of such modern powerful leaders as Jack Welch and Lee Iacocca. Mill represents the modern power broker associated with the “technostructure”. What gave rise to the technostructure? What were the qualities of Sulivan and Mill which allowed them to dominate the organization? These are two of the questions investigated.

This paper aims to present data about access to and use of health and social care services by adults with learning disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Data were collected in three waves between December 2020 and September 2021 and concerned the use of health and social care services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected at one or more time-points directly from 694 adults with learning disabilities and through separate proxy reports by family carers and paid support staff of another 447 adults with learning disabilities.

Many people with learning disabilities who reported regularly accessing services/supports pre-pandemic were not receiving them during the timeframe of this study. There were indications of increasing access to some services and supports between Wave 2 and 3, but this was not universal.

People in Cohort 2, who were likely to have severe/profound learning disabilities, were less frequently reported to access online community activities than people in Cohort 1, which is likely to exacerbate existing social isolation for this cohort and their family carers. Service providers should seek to ensure equitable access to services and activities for all people with learning disabilities in the event of future lockdowns or pandemics.

This is the largest longitudinal study about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health and social care services for adults with learning disabilities in the UK. We primarily collected data directly from adults with learning disabilities and worked with partner organisations of people with learning disabilities and family members throughout the study.

This paper aims to review and synthesize the corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure literature in order to (1) develop a comprehensive definition of disclosure quality; (2) review the evolution of disclosure quality proxies used by accounting researchers; (3) describe the antecedents to disclosure quality; (4) describe the outcomes of disclosure quality; and (5) identify gaps in the current literature and offer suggestions for future research.

This study conducted a systematic review capturing articles examining CSR disclosure quality. The researchers first searched EBSCO, identifying all relevant articles by searching for “corporate social responsibility,” “CSR,” “ESG” and “sustainability reporting” anywhere in the article. Then, the results were filtered to focus on 23 of the most prominent accounting journals. The search resulted in 592 articles which were individually reviewed for relevance to the authors’ review. This study includes all articles that examine disclosure and provide insight into elements that influence disclosure quality or provide evidence of the effects of disclosure quality on user decision-making.

It is found that a comprehensive definition of CSR disclosure quality has yet to be developed and that proxies for CSR disclosure quality have evolved over time. This study synthesizes the literature on the antecedents of CSR disclosure quality, and how CSR disclosure quality affects users' decision-making and related outcomes. Overall, the review of this study suggests that assurance and a number of corporate features have important effects on disclosure quality. Also, high-quality disclosures are positively associated with many benefits to market participants.

This study complements Huang and Watson's (2015) CSR literature review by comprehensively reviewing and synthesizing the CSR disclosure quality literature that was only emerging when their review was published. Importantly, this study contributes to the CSR disclosure literature by developing a comprehensive definition of CSR disclosure quality that is grounded in the accounting literature and aligned with current frameworks.

Provision of comprehensive diversion services for the mentally disordered who come into conflict with the law offers benefits for patients and all those involved in the process, including the police, crown prosecution service and other agencies. It gives access to the most appropriate disposal for this vulnerable group. This case study of a man who had multiple contacts with the diversion services in Birmingham illustrates the particular difficulties associated with diversion from custody for mentally disordered individuals, particularly where there are multiple problem areas. Examination of the case suggests that in spite of inter‐agency commitment to the philosophy of diversion, in some instances a period spent in custody is unavoidable.