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As natural dietary sources of vitamin D are not consumed in sufficient quantities, fortified foods could play a role in maintaining vitamin D sufficiency. With public consultation, an integral part of designing acceptable fortification strategies, the purpose of this paper is to understand public awareness and perception of vitamin D fortified foods.

A mixed-methods approach was taken with two focus groups and 109 surveys conducted using a non-probability sample from North-East England. Thematic analysis of focus group data identified six themes, with factor and cluster analysis identifying seven factors and four clusters, respectively, which highlighted differences in vitamin D knowledge and fortified food perceptions.

Despite identifying sunlight as the main vitamin D source (91 per cent), participants were less aware of the main dietary source (33 per cent), and few could state fortified products (51 per cent). Although attitudes towards fortification were generally favourable (63 per cent agreeing that selected products should be fortified), nearly half (43 per cent) were unsure if more products should be made available. Results suggest that more natural products to complement existing market offerings would be most preferred. Factor and cluster analysis results identified awareness of health benefits and/or dietary sources as essential to have favourable attitudes towards fortified products.

This research adds to the limited literature regarding consumer attitudes towards fortified foods. It highlights a need to improve public awareness and labelling of fortified products to potentially increase fortified food consumption.

Vitamin D deficiency is a well-recognised public health problem within the UK, with specific population groups more vulnerable to deficiency. Two pilot studies were used to explore awareness of vitamin D deficiency and attitudes towards food fortification.

A survey of 120 participants from five at-risk groups (South Asians, Blacks, Middle Eastern, Far Eastern and Caucasian older adults over 65 years) plus a group of British Caucasians who do not avoid sun exposure explored awareness of vitamin D, sun exposure knowledge and behaviour and attitudes towards food fortification. The latter group was included to provide a comparison group who were at a reduced risk of deficiency. χ² was used to test associations between categorical variables and the study groups. The second study used three focus groups and two interviews, conducted on young South Asian females and examined knowledge and awareness of vitamin D and vitamin D-fortified foods.

A lack of knowledge and misconceptions were highlighted by both studies in relation to at-risk factors, including sunlight exposure (p = 0.037), dietary intakes (p = 0.0174) and darker skin pigmentation (p = 0.023), sources of vitamin D and the health benefits associated with optimal consumption. Attitudes to mandatory fortification of some foods varied significantly (p = 0.004) between the groups with acceptance rates for Blacks (68 per cent), those over 65 years (50 per cent), Middle Eastern (67 per cent) and Far Eastern (73 per cent), whereas the control (71 per cent) showed no acceptance, and South Asians gave a mixed response (48 per cent No). Focus group findings highlighted positive views towards fortification, although this was less for mandatory as opposed to voluntary fortification. Both pilot studies highlight the need for more research into this area, to create more effective public health policies.

The research presents novel insights into a topical area where there is limited research.

What is the learning organization? Why is it important? Learning is often seen as an individual level activity but organizational learning is concerned with collective learning processes. The second half is an annotated bibliography of key books in the field.

In a presidential speech to the annual conference of the Academy of Management in Seattle, Professor Lyman Porter took as his theme the progress of work in Organizational Behaviour, and noted the long time‐gap between the discovery of ideas in Organizational Behaviour and their application in Organization Development. With some ideas, twenty years have elapsed between their original discovery and the ability to apply them to real‐life situations.

The objective of the research presented in this paper is to explore the factors associated with company failures in the context of the construction industry. To that end, the four quadrants of an ‘environment/response’ matrix developed by Boyle & Desai (1991. Journal of Small Business Management, 29, 33–42) are populated with Dun and Bradstreet's US business failure data for the construction industry. The study indicates that budgetary and macroeconomic issues represent 83% of the reasons for construction company failures. This implies that firms that take vigorous administrative measures to address budgeting issues and that react promptly to economic conditions by implementing appropriate strategic policies should be able to avoid failure. On the other hand, issues of adaptability to market conditions and business issues appear to have limited effects on company survivability (6% of the reasons for failure). This implies that administrative measures to fend off internal conflicts that originate for reasons beyond management's control and long‐term strategic decisions to regulate the firm's adaptation to market conditions can also help to prevent failure. An ‘input/output’ model appears to explain the business failure phenomenon better than the ‘environment/response’ one.

THE annual election of the Library Association Council for 1946 is over. Of course, only a small part of the Council has been before the electors. The results follow an old‐established precedent, but are nevertheless curious. Why is it that country members seem not to be interested in their selection of candidates who come from the metropolitan area? There were two to be elected for London and those successful were Frank M. Gardner with 572 and Captain Richard Wright with 501 votes; there were five Country Councillors required and Miss M. F. Austin (854) and Messrs. W. A. Munford (831), F. G. B. Hutchings (817), E. Wisker (716) and E. Osborne (601) were elected. Besides the London candidates who were successful by ballot, Mr. W. B. Stevenson (447) and Mr. E. Sydney (360) will serve on the Council for shorter periods in the room of Mr. J. D. Stewart and S/Ldr. J. D. Cowley. It will therefore be seen that there is considerable disparity in the voting for the two parts of the Council. As we say, this is rather curious as it follows a long established tradition. The new members are Mr. Gardner, Mr. Stevenson, Miss Austin, Mr. Munford and Mr. Wisker; this appears to us to be a very interesting and useful team. They have already shown by definite work, mostly in the A.A.L., that they are qualified leaders amongst the younger librarians. We wish them good fortune in the carrying out of their part in the reconstruction period ahead.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of celebrity-advertising context congruence on transferring a celebrity’s image to a brand image.

This study investigates the effect of the advertising context, which is the background of the ad provided by the vehicle carrying it, in transferring a celebrity athlete’s image.

The results indicate that the presentation of a celebrity athlete in an advertising context that is congruent with the professional expertise of the athlete enables the more effective transfer of the athlete’s image to the brand’s image compared with the incongruent advertising context. In addition, the findings suggest that image attributes perceived as belonging to the professional expertise of an athlete are transferred more effectively by a context-congruent advertisement, while image attributes based on the sociocultural influence of an athlete show no difference in image transfer based on the advertising context.

Although the advertising context has been thought to influence advertising effectiveness, no specific research has thus far analyzed the relationship between image transfer and the advertising context in the sports marketing literature.

Tourism and hospitality is one of the fastest growing segments of the services industry in India, and there is tremendous need and opportunity for young, educated and qualified professionals. Academics and employers agree that there is an increasing gap between the soft skills that companies expect from their entry-level employees and the skills that these young people possess. To bridge this gap, industry leaders and researchers indicate the need for more soft skills training. The purpose of this paper is to identify soft skills competencies that are required for a diverse group of entry-level employees and then to identify gaps by exploring the hospitality programme and internships.

The research is analytical in nature and draws on a literature review and a questionnaire as a survey tool for stakeholders. The research had separate questionnaires for employers, students and faculty members of the Vedatya Institute, educator for the service industry. The research is focused on entry-level employees – students who had graduated from Vedatya Institute in the past five years. The employers are primarily general managers and human resource managers of five-star hotels who have recruited and been part of campus interviews.

The research analysed soft or employability skills for the hospitality industry, and it provided valuable insights from employers and perceptions of graduates in attainment of those skills during their degree programme. The study highlighted the significant role of internship in developing soft skills.

The paper recommends practical solutions for educators and organizations that can be applied. The research synthesized current thinking on required soft skills for young entry-level employees and explores the soft skills gap in the context of a growing soft skills training market with recommendation for stakeholders.

The research sought to address the real life problem impacting the hospitality industry in India using inputs from the literature, graduates and employers.