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National policy's inadequate evidential base potentially undermines the modernising social services agenda. Energy may be diverted from the production of welfare and real performance for the people by ‘tick box’ preoccupation with targets that are not outcome‐driven and through ‘death by a thousand inspections’.

This case traces Under Armour from its founding in 1996 through 2008 when the company entered the hyper-competitive non-cleated athletic footwear market. In 1996, with an innovative product and locker room access to college and pro players, Kevin Plank started Under Armour. He turned a struggling t-shirt company into a dominant player capturing 75% of the performance apparel market. In 2006, Under Armour successfully entered the athletic footwear market with a line of football cleats. Under Armour was the first company to disrupt Nike's dominance of the football cleat market by gaining 25% of the market within a year of introduction. In 2008, Under Armour entered the non-cleated athletic footwear market with a cross-trainer sneaker line and a $4.4 million Super Bowl ad. Unlike prior introductions, Nike responded aggressively to Under Armour's move into sneakers. Despite increased sales, Under Armour's costs increased, and profits and stock price decreased. The case concludes by asking students to evaluate Under Armour's next move. An extensive exhibit provides an overview of the athletic footwear industry in 2008.

As every householder knows to his cost, do‐it‐yourself methods are essential in these straitened times. The “hardware” shop stuffed with odd planks of wood, “pounds” of nails and drawers filled with every conceivable size of washer has been replaced by the streamlined “home improvements” supermarket. One such very successful chain is Texas Homecare, a division of Home Charm Ltd, who specialise in the “systems” approach selling complete plumbing, double‐glazing or furniture kits packed and ready for the customer to assemble at home. In the second of our company analyses (see RDM Sept/ Oct 1976) Dr. David Walters examines some of the factors which have helped to treble Home Charm's turnover in three years.

The purpose of this paper is to understand what sales management practices (SMPs) are being used by managers in the current market place, changes over time, insights that can be gained and future research needs.

Data for this paper were collected via a cross-sectional internet-based survey using a sampling frame provided by a professional sales publication. ANOVA was used to analyze 159 sales manager respondents.

Empirical results indicate that several differences are evident across the 68 SMPs items gathered, especially in terms of the size of the sales force and establish some data on using technology in sales management. However, in spite of significant changes in the sales environment, many SMPs have had limited change.

The limitations of this paper include a sample frame drawn from a single source and via the internet and, thus, may have excluded some possible respondents from participation and somewhat limit generalizability.

The results of this paper raise a number of important issues for sales managers to consider. First, which SMPs should they be using? Managers need to give serious thought as to which practices they choose to use. Second, why are so many of them not making more extensive use of sales force technology? Third, is it wise for sales managers to be relying on executive opinion as their most extensively used forecasting method or should they be emphasizing another approach? A fourth issue is the continued heavy emphasis on generating sales volume as opposed to profits.

The data provide a rare and updated understanding of the use of SMPs by sales managers.

The study reported perceived sales interaction conflict (PSIC) as a construct in need of evaluation. As a first step toward validation of a PSIC measure, the study draws perceptual data from a sample of professional industrial buyers. The researchers provide evidence as to the dimensionality of PSIC and its relationship to other variables characteristic of the buyer‐seller relationship.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the suitability of additive manufacturing technologies in the reconstruction of archaeological discoveries as illustrative models. The processes of reverse engineering and part fabrication are discussed in detail, with particular emphasis placed on the difficulties of managing scaling and material characteristics for the manufacturing process.

Through a case‐based approach, this paper examines the reconstruction of a fifteenth‐century ship recovered from the River Usk in South Wales, UK. Using interviews and process data, the paper identifies challenges for both archaeologists and manufacturers in the application of additive manufacturing technologies for archaeological reconstruction applications.

This paper illustrates both the suitability of additive manufacturing in archaeological restoration, but also the challenges which result from this approach. It demonstrates the practical considerations of scaling process and materials, whilst also highlighting the techniques to improve accuracy and mechanical properties of the model.

Whilst the technologies of additive manufacturing have previously been applied to model making, little scholarly research has considered the practical techniques of design elicitation and manufacturing for archaeological applications. Using an in‐depth case study, this paper highlights the principal considerations for these applications, and provides guidance in the mitigation of manufacturing issues.

Outlines the opportunities for building surveyors in Poland as discovered by the Bureau of European Building Consultants and Experts (BEBCE) on their visit to Warsaw in 1991. Discusses the new Poland in the light of recent building contracts, the pace of change in the Warsaw economy, modernization of domestic housing and political change. Explores aspects of maintenance and refurbishment, offering examples from site visits undertaken to a block of flats and a housing estate. Examines the need for greater management skills which could be filled by British specialists and suggests the potential for increased expansion in the future.

To propose that the notion of digital content creation needs to be more firmly perceived by the library community as an essential skill for all new entrants to the profession rather than an occasionally desirable one.

The article provides a reflective viewpoint.

That digital content creation needs to be given a central plank in librarianship and that all new entrants to the profession should be taught the skills and knowledge necessary to manage digital creation projects. The paper also offers some observations regarding potential critical success factors for libraries engaged in digitisation projects.

The article reflects on a specific aspect of practice, and thus may be of interest to practitioners who are involved in digital content creation in libraries.

The paper provides a reflective viewpoint on the skills modern library graduates should be taught, and as such may be of interest to library educators and practitioners.