An analysis of marketing programmes adopted by regional small and medium-sized enterprises

Originality/value – Their ability to understand their marketplace and to become truly competitive relies on SMEs developing a deeper understanding of their current marketing decision-making processes through the systematic adoption of more robust strategic procedures. In summary, there is an observable difference between marketing activities conducted by SMEs and best practice defined in academic theory.Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to create an understanding of the true nature of contemporary SME marketing activities. While acknowledging operational constraints, the paper aims to hypothesize that, if effective marketing planning was employed, this would improve the long-term growth of small to medium-sized enterprises. The paper seeks to assess the implications current practices may have on the long-term survival of enterprises and to identify significant SME marketing development and training needs. Design/methodology/approach – A marketing audit approach yielded data from the collation of 125 completed online questionnaires within the East of England region. Statistical analysis using SPSS was applied to produce an in-depth quantitative analysis of these data. In addition, qualitative data were collected through face-to-face interviews of some 20 owner-managers. These responses were further inductively analysed and interpreted. Findings – Data analysis demonstrated a significant disparity between their perceived marketing effectiveness compared with their actual practices recorded at interview. Significantly, they failed to understand why campaigns did not yield results, as they routinely did not employ appropriate controls and procedures. SMEs believed that they were fully cognisant of the effectiveness of their marketing activity, through further exploration; evidence revealed that they failed to employ sufficient review procedures, and in the extreme cases these procedures were non-existent. A direct correlation was also witnessed between company size and the application of effective marketing planning. Larger enterprises demonstrated a greater awareness of strategic marketing competence

Incidence and outcome of in-hospital cardiac arrest in the United Kingdom National Cardiac Arrest Audit

Objective To report the incidence, characteristics and outcome of adult in-hospital cardiac arrest in the United Kingdom (UK) National Cardiac Arrest Audit database. Methods A prospectively defined analysis of the UK National Cardiac Arrest Audit (NCAA) database. 144 acute hospitals contributed data relating to 22,628 patients aged 16 years or over receiving chest compressions and/or defibrillation and attended by a hospital-based resuscitation team in response to a 2222 call. The main outcome measures were incidence of adult in-hospital cardiac arrest and survival to hospital discharge. Results The overall incidence of adult in-hospital cardiac arrest was 1.6 per 1000 hospital admissions with a median across hospitals of 1.5 (interquartile range 1.2–2.2). Incidence varied seasonally, peaking in winter. Overall unadjusted survival to hospital discharge was 18.4%. The presenting rhythm was shockable (ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia) in 16.9% and non-shockable (asystole or pulseless electrical activity) in 72.3%; rates of survival to hospital discharge associated with these rhythms were 49.0% and 10.5%, respectively, but varied substantially across hospitals. Conclusions These first results from the NCAA database describing the current incidence and outcome of adult in-hospital cardiac arrest in UK hospitals will serve as a benchmark from which to assess the future impact of changes in service delivery, organisation and treatment for in-hospital cardiac arrest

EFFECTS OF MIDSTORY REMOVAL ON BLACK OAK (\u3ci\u3eQUERCUS VELUTINA\u3c/i\u3e) AND WHITE OAK (\u3ci\u3eQUERCUS ALBA\u3c/i\u3e) REGENERATION

The formation of dense understories in eastern forests has created low light environments that hinder the development of advance oak reproduction. Studies have shown that a midstory removal can enhance these light conditions and promote the development of competitive oak seedlings. Previous studies have been primarily focused on oaks found on productive sites, and there is little knowledge of this treatment’s potential on intermediate sites and the typically associated oak species. This study investigates the seven-year effects of midstory removal on natural and underplanted white (Quercus alba L.) and black oak (Quercus velutina L.) reproduction, as well as competing red maples (Acer rubrum L.), on intermediate sites within the western rim of the Cumberland Plateau. In addition to its effect on stand reproduction, this study also investigates the impact of this treatment on microclimate. Results from this study can provide a look at the long term success of midstory removal on intermediate quality sites and serve as a basis for future oak management in the region

Interests, corruption and military effectiveness: the French Army of Italy and the campaign of 1657

Challenging the traditional argument that the French army in the 1650s was marked by significant developments in centralized administrative control, this article looks at the continuing importance of the interplay of three interest groups in determining the effectiveness of military operations: central governement; the generals and their military administrators; the regimental officers. It argues that in the Italian theatre these three interest groups proved unable to work together, and explores the consequences of this for strategy and military outcomes

Physiological and Biochemical Aspects of Agrobacterium-Wheat (\u3ci\u3eTriticum aestivum\u3c/i\u3e L.) Interactions

Agrobacterium tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes are the causal agents of gall or hairy root disease, but normally the bacteria do not cause disease in wheat. However, both bacteria grew without inhibition when exposed to intact or wounded wheat roots or embryos, and they colonized wheat root surfaces to levels similar to dicotyledonous plants. A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes induced 23% cell death after a 1-h exposure to wheat embryo cells grown in 7.4 mM O2, while the extent of cell death at 2.1 mM 02 was 8%. Contact with A. tumefaciens or A. rhizogenes caused cultured wheat embryo and root cells to rapidly produce H202, which decreased when embryos and roots were cultured at 2.1 mM O2. Browning and autofluorescence, and an increase in ferulic acid in cell walls, were observed in wheat embryo and root epidermal cells exposed to Agrobacterium, but . neither lignin nor callose was detected. Agrobacterium appeared to induce resistance-like responses in wheat that may limit transformation efficiency. The inability to regenerate wheat plants using tissue culture has been a limitation to high efficiency transformation. Regeneration via somatic embryogenesis was improved significantly by simulating the in ovulo environment to which the immature wheat embryos are exposed. Triticum embryo culture medium (TEC) improved callus formation, somatic embryo formation, and regeneration from somatic embryos while reducing precocious germination when compared to growth on Murashige and Skoog medium. Regeneration frequencies were improved when embryos were cultured at the O2 concentration found in the wheat ovule (2.1 mM O2) rather than atmospheric 02concentration (7.4 mM O2). Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of wheat was limited by tissue necrosis following co-cultivation, and by poor plant regeneration. Reduction of necrosis and increased plant regeneration were accomplished by amending the culture medium with antioxidant compounds and by reducing the O2 tension in which the wheat embryos were cu1tured. Twelve days past anthesis (DPA), wheat embryos were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains WAg 11 or EHA 101, incubated on TEC medium containing antioxidant compounds (catalase, cysteine and ascorbic acid), and cultured at 2.1 mM O2 concentrations. Transformation was documented in 6.0% ofregeneratedA. tumefaciens WAg 11 exposed wheat plants using the firefly luciferase (luc) reporter system

Interest Representation as a Clash of Unequal Allies

Organized interests do not have direct control over the fate of their policy agendas in Congress. They cannot introduce bills, vote on legislation, or serve on House committees. If organized interests want to achieve virtually any of their legislative goals they must rely on and work through members of Congress. As an interest group seeks to move its policy agenda forward in Congress, then, one of the most important challenges it faces is the recruitment of effective legislative allies. Legislative allies are members of Congress who “share the same policy objective as the group” and who use their limited time and resources to advocate for the group’s policy needs (Hall and Deardorff 2006, 76). For all the financial resources that a group can bring to bear as it competes with other interests to win policy outcomes, it will be ineffective without the help of members of Congress that are willing to expend their time and effort to advocate for its policy positions (Bauer, Pool, and Dexter 1965; Baumgartner and Leech 1998b; Hall and Wayman 1990; Hall and Deardorff 2006; Hojnacki and Kimball 1998, 1999). Given the importance of legislative allies to interest group success, are some organized interests better able to recruit legislative allies than others? This question has received little attention in the literature. This dissertation offers an original theoretical framework describing both when we should expect some types of interests to generate more legislative allies than others and how interests vary in their effectiveness at mobilizing these allies toward effective legislative advocacy. It then tests these theoretical expectations on variation in group representation during the stage in the legislative process that many scholars have argued is crucial to policy influence, interest representation on legislative committees. The dissertation uncovers pervasive evidence that interests with a presence across more congressional districts stand a better chance of having legislative allies on their key committees. It also reveals that interests with greater amounts of leverage over jobs and economic investment will be better positioned to win more allies on key committees. In addition, interests with a policy agenda that closely overlaps with the jurisdiction of just one committee in Congress are more likely to have legislative allies on their key committees than are interests that have a policy agenda divided across many committee jurisdictions. In short, how groups are distributed across districts, the leverage that interests have over local jobs and economic investment, and how committee jurisdictions align with their policy goals affects their influence in Congress

Control of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) development and senescence by the interaction between a chromosome six grain protein content locus, day length, and vernalization

Regulatory processes controlling traits such as anthesis timing and whole-plant senescence are of primary importance for reproductive success and for crop quality and yield. It has previously been demonstrated that the presence of alleles associated with high grain protein content (GPC) at a locus on barley chromosome six leads to accelerated leaf senescence, and to strong (>10-fold) up-regulation of several genes which may be involved in senescence control. One of these genes (coding for a glycine-rich RNA-binding protein termed HvGR-RBP1) exhibits a high degree of similarity to Arabidopsis glycine-rich RNA-binding protein 7 (AtGRP7), which has been demonstrated to accelerate flowering under both long-day (LD) and short-day (SD) conditions, but not after vernalization. Development of near-isogenic barley lines, differing in the allelic state of the GPC locus, was compared from the seedling stage to maturity under both SD and LD and after vernalization under LD. Intriguingly, pre-anthesis plant development [measured by leaf emergence timing and pre-anthesis (sequential) leaf senescence] was enhanced in high-GPC germplasm. Differences were more pronounced under SD than under LD, but were eliminated by vernalization, associating observed effects with floral induction pathways. By contrast, differences in post-anthesis flag leaf and whole-plant senescence between low- and high-GPC germplasm persisted under all tested conditions, indicating that the GPC locus, possibly through HvGR-RBP1, impacts on both developmental stages. Detailed molecular characterization of this experimental system may allow the dissection of cross-talk between signalling pathways controlling early plant and floral development on one side, and leaf/whole-plant senescence on the other side