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Considers the role of design as a marketing tool for the wine industry. The meaning of design and its relationship to marketing is defined then explored from a number of perspectives to demonstrate its relevance to modern wine making techniques. Examines the possibilities for a design led approach to wine making using case material from an English Winery. Concludes that design offers real opportunities in wine making as a means for developing effective marketing strategies.

The article considers trends in the Czechoslovakian wine industry, the industry's home market faces a decline in per capita consumption and increasing price sensitivity. Through a case study the development of a particular producer of quality wine is examined together with the emergence of a coordinated approach to marketing decisions. The UK is a potential export market for such a producer. The growth and development of the UK wine market is considered and opportunities identified. Developing a producer to serve those requirements is found to be difficult requiring the producer to readdress the issue of quality. Bottles and labels may also need to be changed. The development process requires investment and the risks of political change need to be considered.

The Hall Effect sensor is continuing to undergo some ingenious improvements, as a researcher outlines.

Examines expenditure on property held by an investor or a person running a business, particularly the contrast between capital expenditure for Capital Gains Tax purposes and that allowed for income taxation purposes. Considers the possible effects of proposals for new VAT laws on the property industry. Surmises that the distinction between revenue and capital expenditure is still not fully resolved, being a “live” issue affected by current practice and future cases.

As more companies and employees become involved in telecommuting, researchers and managers will need to understand the effects of this relatively new working arrangement on the work perceptions and behaviors of the individual telecommuter. The extant empirical literature provides mixed results and is limited by a lack of theory; consequently, neither researchers nor managers can rely on this literature for clear direction on how telecommuting will likely affect individual telecommuters. There is a critical need for theoretical frameworks to guide research on how telecommuting may affect the telecommuter’s job perceptions, working relations, and work outcomes. We present a multi-dimensional framework of telecommuting design, and focus on how telecommuting design may affect the telecommuter’s work environment and outcomes through its effects on the social system of the telecommuter, autonomy and self-management opportunities and requirements, and role boundaries, particularly in terms of the work and non-work interface. Our goal is to provide a framework to assist managers and researchers in systematically addressing questions of how to design telecommuting arrangements to maximize their potential benefits while minimizing their potential drawbacks.

The pretty girl with raven hair sings as she works and dreams of wonderful days ahead. The girl's dream is deferred by the wickedly jealous stepmother who sends a trusted guard to commit murder. The man, overwhelmed by the girl's inherent goodness is unable to complete his deed, and warns her to run away and never return. She travels deep into the woods and is helped by friendly forest creatures with big eyes. They take her to a small cottage and she falls asleep, to be awakened by several small men who find it in their hearts to allow her to remain. The miniature men leave for work the next day, warning the girl of the stepmother and her trickery. The nasty woman disguises herself and easily convinces the girl to take a bite of the religiously symbolic apple, after which the girl is induced into a coma. The small men return, chase after the horrible stepmother and cause her to fall to her death, after which they do not bury the beauty-girl, but instead leave her ensconced in a glass tomb for all to see. The gallant prince finally arrives and kisses her, true love breaking the apple's spell and allowing the girl to ride away on the horse with the true hero, leaving behind the woodland creatures and small men forever. Sunlight beaming, girl beaming, small men and creatures beaming. All is right with the world.

Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).

The purpose of this paper is to present a rare example of the roots of (comparative) urban failure. This acts as counterpoint to the more common preoccupation with investigating how and why some cities become successful.

The main methodology used is a series of in‐depth qualitative interviews with a representative sample of the urban elite of the city being studied. The initial main source of key contacts was the City Centre Management Committee.

Analysis of the in‐depth qualitative interviews showed that most respondents, whether from the public or private sectors, genuinely believed in, and spontaneously expressed the view, that negative parochialism was a pervasive drag on the future plans and aspirations of city leaders. The findings are triangulated with other evidence that this parochialism has endured for generations.

Though the sample of respondents is small, it does represent a high percentage of the local urban elite. Other forms of data triangulation may be possible and could be helpful in corroborating the findings. Future research should seek to identify other instances of the problem.

Not all cities are highly publicised success stories nor deliver the environment that their residents deserve: but good intentions can be thwarted by negative parochialism. Urbanists need to be aware of the existence of negative parochialism and its implications for urban policy and practice.

By examining a rare‐documented example of the roots of (comparative) urban failure, the findings are of value to all who seek to understand the functioning of policymaking in the urban arena.

The need for IT (Information Technology) and information skills training has been revisited by a new approach to clinical decision‐making in the National Health Service (NHS): evidence based practice. The Trent Institute for Health Services Research supports NHS staff in the Trent region either wishing to implement evidence based practice or to undertake research of their own by providing advice and training. A range of courses providing training in research skills has been developed. Included in this range are four half‐day information skills courses, developed by the Information Resources section of the Trent Institute: Literature Searching, Health information on the Internet, Introducing the Cochrane Library and Sources for clinical effectiveness. Aims and objectives for each course have been developed to facilitate the development of course materials and the evaluation of training. Evaluation questionnaires are completed by course participants and at the time of writing (November 1997), response has been positive. The information collected is being used to plan future courses for the next academic year, such as Training the Trainers courses.

Describes the Sigma Project. The Project, under way in a number of health care settings across Trent Regional Health Authority, is making dramatic productivity gains and improvement in the quality of care by adopting a radical approach to health care provision and setting exacting performance targets. The project is being spearheaded by a number of Trust chief executives and unit general managers. It involves 16 sites and nearly 30 individual initiatives at those sites. Pump‐priming funding has been provided by the region. By going for a fault‐free service and getting it right first time, large productivity gains are being made.