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The application of quality objectives to one of the three main NHS resources ‐ the estate ‐ is discussed. The relevance and outcome of quality systems for strategic planning and estate information are defined. Formal quality auditing, BS5750 and option appraisal techniques in estate investment lead to the estate providing maximum quality benefit for patients.

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.

Earliest localism was sited on a tree or hill or ford, crossroads or whenceways, where people assembled to talk, (Sax. witan), or trade, (Sax. staple), in eggs, fowl, fish or faggots. From such primitive beginnings many a great city has grown. Settlements and society brought changes; appointed headmen and officials, a cloak of legality, uplifted hands holding “men to witness”. Institutions tend to decay and many of these early forms passed away, but not the principle vital to the system. The parish an ecclesiastical institution, had no place until Saxons, originally heathens, became Christians and time came when Church, cottage and inn filled the lives of men, a state of localism in affairs which endured for centuries. The feudal system decayed and the vestry became the seat of local government. The novels of Thomas Hardy—and English literature boasts of no finer descriptions of life as it once was—depict this authority and the awe in which his smocked countrymen stood of “the vicar in his vestry”. The plague freed serfs and bondsmen, but events, such as the Poor Law of 1601, if anything, revived the parish as the organ of local government, but gradually secular and ecclesiastical aspects were divided and the great population explosion of the eighteenth century created necessity for subdivision of areas, which continued to serve the principle of localism however. The ballot box completed the eclipse of Church; it changed concepts of localism but not its importance in government.

This paper aims at shedding some light on the various avenues marketers can undertake until finally an endorsement contract is signed. The focus of the study lies on verifying the generally held assumption that endorser selection is usually taken care of by creative agencies, vetting several candidates by means of subtle evaluation procedures.

A case study research has been carried out among companies experienced in celebrity endorsements to learn more about the endorser selection process in practise. Based on these cases theory is inductively developed.

The research suggests that the generally held assumption that endorsers being selected and thoroughly vetted by a creative agency may not be universally valid. A normative model to illustrate the continuum of the selection process in practise is suggested and the two polar case studies (Swiss brand Lindt and Austrian Vitatherm) are presented in depth.

As the results of the study suggest, generally held assumptions towards the endorser selection process may be challenged. Consequently, this affects the necessary accuracy of models to evaluate the brand‐endorser matchup.

Conducted case studies indicate that there are various avenues how brands come to their endorser. This paper could not find evidence of a best practice strategy.

A normative model for the celebrity endorser selection process is suggested.

Intermediate care services generally focus on health and social care organisations as the key commissioning and providing agencies. The private sector is an important contributor to residential intermediate care, and the voluntary sector is also involved in a variety of activities. However, volunteers' contribution is little discussed, and its potential unknown. This article outlines features of intermediate care that may or may not be attractive to volunteers. A survey of volunteer perceptions of their role in one voluntary sector intermediate care service is reported. Recommendations are made for voluntary groups, intermediate care workers and their managers, and policy makers.

The management of children′s literature is a search for value and suitability. Effective policies in library and educational work are based firmly on knowledge of materials, and on the bibliographical and critical frame within which the materials appear and might best be selected. Boundaries, like those between quality and popular books, and between children′s and adult materials, present important challenges for selection, and implicit in this process are professional acumen and judgement. Yet also there are attitudes and systems of values, which can powerfully influence selection on grounds of morality and good taste. To guard against undue subjectivity, the knowledge frame should acknowledge the relevance of social and experiential context for all reading materials, how readers think as well as how they read, and what explicit and implicit agendas the authors have. The good professional takes all these factors on board.

A vertically stacked, three layer hybrid Hilbert fractal geometry and serpentine radiator-based patch antenna is proposed and characterized for medical implant applications at the Industrial, Scientific and Medical band (2.4-2.48 GHz). Antenna parameters are optimised to achieve miniaturized, biocompatible and stable transmission characteristics. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Human tissue effects on the antenna electrical characteristics were simulated with a three-layer (skin, fat and muscle) human tissue model with the dimensions of 180×70×60 mm3 (width×height×thickness mm3). Different stacked substrates are utilized for the satisfactory characteristics. Two identical radiating patches are printed on Roger 3,010 (ε _r=10.2) and Alumina (ε _r=9.4) substrate materials, respectively. In addition, various superstrate materials are considered and simulated to prevent short circuit the antenna while having a direct contact with the metallization, and achieve biocompatibility. Finally, superstrate material of Zirconia (ε _r=29) is used to achieve biocompatibility and long-life. A finite element method is used to simulate the proposed hybrid model with commercially available Ansoft HFSS software.

The antenna is miniaturized, having dimensions of 10×8.4×2 mm3 (width×height×thickness mm3). The resonance frequency of the antenna is 2.4 GHz with a bandwidth of 100 MHz at return loss (S11) of better than −10 dB characteristics. Overall, the proposed antenna have 50 Ω impedance matching, −21 dB far field antenna gain, single-plane omni-directional radiation pattern properties and incident power of 5.3 mW to adhere Specific Absorption Rate regulation limit.

Vertically stacked three layer hybrid design have miniaturized characteristics, wide bandwidth, biocompatible, and stable characteristics in three layer human tissue model make this antenna suitable for implant biomedical monitor systems. The advanced simulation analysis of the proposed design constitutes the main contribution of the paper.

School trips to Outdoor Residential Centres can represent a significant and formative childhood tourism experience that can potentially influence adult tourism and leisure choices. Commonly located in ‘green spaces’ which range from peri-urban through to wild and natural landscapes, these centres offer adventurous outdoor activities. Alongside developmental and educational learning, children are immersed in nature experiences that can enable emotional connections with local environments. This chapter is based on a UK context, in which current policymaking is concerned with increasing inclusivity of access to British landscapes, in which many of these centres are located. It is argued here that Outdoor Residential Centres enable childhood experiences that can influence future consumer choices, alongside shaping support for the future protection of natural landscapes.

As a markedly under-explored area of the literature in the United Kingdom, this conceptual review of the literature sets out the imperative for understanding the vital role of Outdoor Residential Centres in shaping tourism futures. Through bringing together environmental education and psychology with tourism management literature, the chapter identifies the imperative for further research to enable nature connections through Outdoor Residential Centre experiences. This responds to the UK policy agenda to increase nature connections and support conservation. The application of a ‘sustainable children typology’ to a Welsh case study demonstrates how Residential Outdoor Centres enable children's empowerment through outdoor learning experiences that shape them as ‘sustainability thinkers’ and to potentially influence pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours as ‘sustainability transformers’ – and ultimately, eco-literate tourists.

Standardized systems for feeding, gripping, and joining are needed to realize the potential of microsystem and nano‐system technology. This paper describes many several systems that are operating in this area and the applications for the new technology and the parts that can currently be manufactured. These include miniature pneumatic valves, matchstick sized motors and fluidic pumps.