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THE alloys under consideration contain only zinc and magnesium as the major alloying additions. The total alloy content varies between 5 and 7 per cent whereas the high strength aircraft alloys have a total content of 8 to 10 per cent and may also contain up to 2 per cent of copper. A wide range of mechanical properties can be obtained with the weldable alloys and some of these properties closely approach those of the aircraft alloys. Problems associated with weld metal cracking and heat affected zone recovery arc normally severe with age hardening aluminium alloys but are greatly attenuated with the weldable alloys.

The White Paper Valuing People (DoH, 2003) promises to increase choice and control for adults with a learning disability, housing being one area specifically highlighted in this respect. However, lack of knowledge about the preferences of adults with a learning disability makes it very difficult for services to be planned effectively and based on the views of the very group who will use them. This paper discusses the findings of a project which aimed to involve adults with a learning disability in service planning, by asking them to identify their own needs and preferences in relation to housing. The project clearly emphasises that adults with a learning disability are often very well able to articulate their own needs about housing, and should thus be the focus of all decisions.

Local governments in the U.S. rely less on the property tax than they have historically. This long-term trend has been accompanied by important shifts in the composition of local revenues. While the property tax still serves as one primary source of local government revenue, increasingly other sources are used to pay for local government. This paper first examines that trend, the forces behind it, and its regional impact. We then explore trends in three central states - - Iowa, Nebraska, and Arkansas -- that have experienced substantial revenue shifts in recent years. A concluding section discusses the options for the future.

This paper examines trends in local government revenues and current challenges that local governments face in raising revenue. We alsolook into the future in an effort to make recommendations to localgovernments regarding their revenue structure. Important trends that wedocument include a long-term decline in the property tax and an increase inboth state aid and user charges. Recent economic changes present seriouschallenges for local governments due to volatility of sales taxes, decreasesin property values, and threats to state aid. As local governments shape theirrevenue structure, they will need to respond to external economic,technological and demographic changes. Only user charges offer hopefulprospects as a productive revenue source.

Are states effectively managing contracting and procurement activities? Are they striking the right balance between central administrative control and empowerment through delegation? How effective is training and monitoring? How do these practices compare to the principles of best practice? What role will information technology play in the future for procurement and contracting? As part of the Government Performance Project, budget, procurement, and contracting managers in 48 states were surveyed, providing descriptions of their procurement and contracting practices. There are numerous developments that speak to the practical details of contemporary public management. Five key findings are (1) information technology needs are challenging states, with some responding well, but others struggling, (2) in most states staff training needs to be improved, (3) restrictions prohibiting “best value” purchasing need to be removed, (4) states can learn from and improve practices by partnering with other governments and private organizations, and (5) most states use a hybrid of both centralized and decentralized management structures when it comes to contracting and procurement.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of choice on the development and maintenance of a fruit consumption behaviour and if behaviour change was underpinned by habit strength.

A 2×2×3 mixed model experimental design was used. The independent variables were pictorial cue and fruit consumption manipulated on two levels: choice and no choice, across three-time points: baseline, post-intervention (after two weeks) and follow-up (one week later). Participants (n=166) completed demographics, the self-report habit index and fruit intake at all three-time points.

All participants showed significant increases in fruit consumption and habit strength at post-intervention and follow-up. However, participants provided neither choice of cue nor fruit showed a significant decrease in consumption at follow-up.

Fruit consumption can be significantly increased with a relatively simple intervention; choice seems to have an effect on behaviour maintenance, providing no choice negatively effects behaviour maintenance post-intervention. This may inform future interventions designed to increase fruit and vegetable consumption.

The intervention that the authors designed and implemented in the current study is the first of its kind, where choice was manipulated in two different ways and behaviour was changed with a simple environmental cue intervention.

In this introductory essay, the authors describe a new public finance characterized by enduring revenue constraints; mounting budgetary claims from accruing liabilities for post-retirement benefits for government employees, rising health care costs, and an aging population; and uncertainty about future budgetary demands and resource limitations. The new public finance is described as a convergence of economic and demographic forces with past practices that increased the fiscal vulnerability of states and local governments. The authors explain that states and local governments will not overcome challenges by relying upon traditional ways of thinking about and conducting business but instead must revamp frameworks for practice. Symposium papers are described as tackling several of the most pressing issues facing governments today with an eye towards rethinking customary approaches.

An earlier study found that certain Minnesota state aid programs stimulated city property tax levies to a high degree. If this is accurate, it suggests potentially serious problems with state property tax relief efforts. This article re-examines this question and finds that most aid programs have little direct effect on property tax levies. However, certain aid formulas that reduce the effective price of property taxes do indirectly stimulate property taxes. Therefore, states need to be careful in designing aid programs intended to reduce property taxes.

Parental beliefs about underage drinking are known to influence the drinking behaviours of their children. The purpose of this paper is to explore parental beliefs about their own child drinking alcohol and young people in general, in order to ascertain whether there is a need to target such beliefs in the design of public health interventions.

Parents of 11–18 year olds attending one of nine schools in the Midlands of England, UK were invited to take part. Participants completed a newly designed 40-item questionnaire measuring parental beliefs about the impact and causes of underage drinking; talking to their child about alcohol; and how much and how often they thought their child consumed alcohol.

In total, 185 parents took part in the study, reporting on their eldest child aged 18 or under. The majority of parents agreed that underage drinking is detrimental to child health and wellbeing. However, over 60 per cent believed that alcohol consumption is a “natural part of growing up”, and stronger agreement with this belief was associated with higher parental reports of alcohol consumption in their children.

The majority of parents recognised the risks and negative effects of alcohol; however, many also believe it is a natural part of growing up. Parents may hold conflicting beliefs about underage drinking, which could impact on the drinking beliefs and behaviours of their children.

Public health interventions may need to counter the common parental belief that underage drinking is a normal part of growing up and therefore to be expected. Clear messages about the impact parent beliefs and behaviour have on young people drinking, to ensure parents recognise that messages are aimed at themselves, and not just “other parents” are imperative.

This article reviews the politics of government-business relations in the US from 1776 to the present. It argues that two major political interests, the agrarian democrats and the nationalist Whigs, created the context for discussion of economic policy that continues today. At times, pragmatic compromises have resolved the differences between these interests. The lessons from this history are instructive for today, and suggest potentially viable policies and coalitions to address business issues.