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The author examines the interrelationship between different organisations in the local economic-development field and the practitioners' response to various policy issues. A sociological perspective is adopted to achieve a sympathetic understanding of the situation as the actors see it, and of the subjective meanings they ascribe to their actions. Empirical findings were yielded both from quantitative and from qualitative data for two case-study areas—the North West and the Eastern regions of England. These two regions were chosen because of their very contrasting socioeconomic experiences, which provide a compelling account of how practitioners perceive different issues and how these perceptions vary between different types of organisations in different localities.

In this paper the authors examine the technical assumptions and measurement errors involved in the population and household projections which constitute the basic ingredient of housing land allocations in England. They also provide an analysis of the advice on housing land provision in the Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) series, picking out similarities and differences in the approach taken by the Secretary of State for the Environment in each region. They conclude with some thoughts on the appropriateness of current mechanisms for the allocation of future housing requirements at the strategic or regional level.

This paper presents a path to tailor adapted magnetic and electronic properties in carbyne. Although p-orbital magnetism is generally much weaker than d-orbital magnetism, we demonstrate that the charge fluctuation of the free radical electrons triggered by a time-varying electric dipole moment leads to enormous p-orbital magnetism. By introducing 25% arsenic and 12.5% fluorine into the monoatomic carbon chain, the magnetic moment of the arsenic atom reaches 2.9 μB, which is ∼1.3 times stronger than magnetic moment of bulk Fe. This magnetically optimized carbyne composite carries an exchange-correlation energy of 22 meV (∼270 K). On the other hand, we convert the carbyne (in beta-form) from metallic to a semiconducting state by using anionic dopants. After doping 12.5% nitrogen and 12.5% oxygen into the beta-carbyne, the semiconducting gap of this composite is optimized at 1.6 eV, which is 1.4 times larger than the band gap of bulk silicon. © the Owner Societies. ; The study was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation (contract no. 02.A03.21.0006).

Small and medium-sized firms in Britain have been encouraged by a range of government policies. In this paper, the impact of Business Growth Training Option 3 is examined, which between 1989 and 1991 provided financial assistance to small and medium-sized firms to employ consultants to help them train and develop their management staff. A novel methodology is employed; it follows a cohort of firms through their Option 3 project, and compares them with a matched sample of firms not in receipt of assistance. The evaluation demonstrates the effectiveness of support for management training in small and medium-sized enterprises. It shows that Option 3 produced a substantial increase in the scale and range of management training. It also shows that Option 3 assistance led to improvements in management, organisation, and business performance in participant firms. Based on this evidence, a series of recommendations are made for both government policy and further academic research.

AbstractA systems analysis technique, called the 'analytic hierarchy process', has been employed to develop a wastewater treatment optimization model which enables consideration to be given to subjective factors such as socio‐cultural and environmental conditions as well as to technical and economic aspects. The model is particularly applicable to the developing world. Twenty and twenty‐two parameters were identified for the selection of wastewater and sludge‐treatment alternatives respectively. Forty‐six and ninety‐four treatment alternatives were formulated as decision variables for the selection for wastewater and sludge treatment respectively. The technique was then employed to select the optimum treatment procedures.

It has long been acknowledged that there is a gap between the advancement of GIS in the research field and its application in planning practice. This paper demonstrates the potential for employing simple GIS mapping overlays as a way of communicating complex planning issues in a language that is easily understandable and effective at stimulating policy debate, critical thinking, and learning. The analysis focuses on capturing the synergies and conflicts in two key planning challenges in England, pro-growth and housing delivery agendas. In a political context where spatial evidence-based policy making has been eroded in recent years, the analysis demonstrates the need for policy makers to think spatially, act spatially when developing different policies and programmes. The paper concludes that only by making spatial relationships of policies and programmes explicit in a manner that is easily understood by a range of actors, can different spatial scenarios and metaphors of future opportunities and challenges be developed to inform long-range development and planning.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated with smoking behaviour in primary school children in Hong Kong. DESIGN: A cross sectional survey in which both children and parents completed questionnaires. The main outcome measure was the smoking status of the children; and risk factors (knowledge of and attitude to smoking and demographic and socioeconomic background) were identified as predictors of ever/never smoking. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Altogether 9598 primary school children, aged 8-13 years, and attending 27 schools from two districts in Hong Kong participated. MAIN RESULTS: The prevalence of ever-smoking was 12% (1119)-15% (760) in boys and 7% (359) in girls. It ranged from 3% in 8 year old girls to 52% in 13 year old boys. The factors associated with ever-smoking included the following: being a boy (adjusted odds ratio 2.21; 95% confidence interval 1.89, 2.59), increasing age per year (1.48; 1.40, 1.57), living in Kwai Tsing district (1.29; 1.10, 1.50), having one or more smokers at home (2.07; 1.78, 2.39), and having a father who was not working (1.41; 1.19, 1.67). Children who were ever-smokers had both seen and approved of their friends' smoking (8.79; 5.33, 14.50), had a more positive attitude towards smoking (3.35; 2.21, 5.09), and were more successful in recognising cigarette brand names and logos (1.67; 1.42, 1.96), but they lacked confidence (1.78; 1.32, 2.39). CONCLUSIONS: The influences on child smoking are multifactorial and programmes in Hong Kong are falling to curb them. The control of these risk factors must be incorporated in the smoking prevention policy of Hong Kong and supported by future enforced legislation.