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Chia Swee Hong discusses social prescribing and how allied health professionals can help primary care professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Supermarkets are the primary source of food for many people yet their full potential as a setting to encourage healthy dietary-related behaviours remains underutilised. Sharing the experiences from research groups who have worked with supermarket chains to evaluate strategies that promote healthy eating could improve the efficiency of building such relationships and enhance the design quality of future research studies. Methods: A collective case study approach was used to synthesise experiences of engaging and sustaining research collaborations with national supermarket chains to test the effectiveness of health-focused in-store interventions. The collective narrative covers studies conducted in three high-income countries: Australia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Results: We have distilled our experiences and lessons learned into six recommendations for conducting high quality public health research with commercial supermarket chains. These include: (i) using personal contacts, knowledge of supermarket activities and engaging executive management to establish a partnership and allowing time to build trust; (ii) using scientifically robust study designs with appropriate sample size calculations; (iii) formalising data exchange arrangements and allocating adequate resource for data extraction and re-categorisation; (iv) assessing effects at individual/households level where possible; (v) designing a mixed-methods process evaluation to measure intervention fidelity, dose and unintended consequences; and (vi) ensuring scientific independence through formal contract agreements. Conclusions: Our collective experiences of working in non-financial partnerships with national supermarket chains could be useful for other research groups looking to develop and implement supermarket studies in an efficient manner. Further evidence from real-life supermarket interventions is necessary to identify sustainable strategies that can improve population diet and maintain necessary commercial outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public relations (PR) agencies often win work by responding to competitive tenders for new business in the form of a presentation known as a 'pitch'. PR pitches are bound by few rules and there is often little or no transparency. Contracts can be awarded on intangibles such as 'chemistry'. PR practitioners may put many hours of unpaid work into pitches and not receive any useful feedback if unsuccessful. This article researches the practice of pitching through interviews with regional UK public relations agencies and an analysis of textbook advice. It views the process via the lens of ceremonial values to understand why a flawed business arrangement thrives in an occupation striving to be seen as a profession. The study demonstrates that the imbalance of power in the pitching process works in favour of the client. Agency leaders cited the human cost of pitching, the lack of transparency in the pitching process and the lack of feedback after a pitch as the main issues with the process. Textbook advice stresses the value of 'chemistry' and puts responsibility on the PR agency for making the relationship work which immediately puts the agency in a subservient position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a case study of public relations in the UK charity sector, this article argues that cultural intermediary research urgently requires a more sustained focus on politics and the political understood as power relations, party politics and political projects such as marketization and neoliberalism. While wide-ranging research has analysed how cultural intermediaries mediate the relationship between culture and economy, this has been at the expense of an in-depth analysis of the political. Using our case study as a prompt, we highlight the diversity of ways that the political impacts cultural intermediary work and that cultural intermediary work may impact the political. We reveal the tensions that underpin practice as a result of the interactions between culture, the economy and politics, and show that the tighter the engagement of cultural intermediation with the political sphere, the more tensions must be negotiated and the more compromised practitioners may feel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The axis and allied powers, mainly Germany and Britain, used propaganda in Turkey throughout Second World War in an attempt to persuade Turkey to become an ally. Britain was at the forefront of this movement and held films, conferences, language courses etc at the British Council, which was established in 1934, to promote English language, cultural accumulation, art and architecture. The council, the first office of which was opened in Ankara in 1940, succeeded in strengthening the diplomatic relationships between the two countries by extensively raising public opinion across the country through its activities. Exhibitions, which are a highly effective method of communication for large groups, were organized in the capital Ankara by the British Council during and after Second World War as a vehicle of cultural propaganda to exhibit art and graphics, architecture, educational institutions, books, urbanism, furniture and photography. The pro-British exhibitions provided the opportunity to establish close relations with Turkish Government officials; and so can be seen to have served Britain's propaganda efforts to secure Turkey as an ally, both during and after the war. Although Britain actually failed to persuade Turkey to become a war ally, these exhibitions carried out by the British Council did succeeded in introducing the English language, culture and lifestyle to the country, and thus creating positive Turkish-British relations even after the war. While the British Council continues to conduct such activities, the exhibitions held by the British Council, which are the subject of the study, are limited to those of the 1940s. The study uses archive documents, news in periodical publications and information obtained from exhibition catalogues to address questions such as the dates of the exhibitions, the areas and works exhibited, the views of the Turkish government, the public, and the press of these exhibitions, as well as the relevance of the exhibitions in their period and how they compared to similar activities by other countries. The study, which is entitled "The Cultural Propaganda Exhibitions of the British Council in Ankara in the 1940's" and focuses on the exhibition activities organized by the British Council in Ankara during the 10-year period between 1940-1950, concludes that reasons such as the propaganda that occured during World War II, the changing global political balances after the war, and the increasing importance of alliances, all lead the delegation to conduct an intense program of activities in Turkey during those years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary introduces the "Cinema Programmes" of the British Public Relations Office in Bahrain from 1944 to 1948. In addition to propaganda-based newsreels and information films, the programs included Hollywood feature films that were borrowed from Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO). BAPCO rented the films from distributors in India for screening in its employees-only cinema in Awali. Following screenings in the company cinema, the films were exhibited in a range of nontheatrical venues and for different audiences. These programs, which were collected and archived in the India Office Records, provide us with one of the few sources to track the formative years of film culture in the Gulf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) embrace an ambitious and wide ranging set of environmental, social, and economic issues designed to effect a transition to a more sustainable future. Although the SDGs are global in nature, there is an increasing awareness that they also have an important local dimension. With this in mind, this commentary paper outlines the characteristics of the SDGs, reviews their importance at the local level, provides some illustrations of how they are being addressed locally within North Western Europe and United Kingdom, and offers some reflections on localising the SDGs. The paper suggests that progress in launching and developing local initiatives within the United Kingdom has, to date, been limited. In part, this reflects the lack of a clear national policy framework for the localisation of the SDGs and in part, it reflects the challenges of raising awareness of the importance of local SDG initiatives and of funding such initiatives. Looking to the future, communications and public relations professionals may have an important role to play in raising awareness of the importance of the SDGs at the local level, and this may help to change hearts and minds in addressing the policy making and financial challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following is a reflection on Spanish undergraduate studies that combine the concepts of marketing and public relations. Sharing origins and often functions and specialists, both concepts have run parallel paths that have merged on multiple occasions. This evolution has been studied from different points of view. Initially, marketing experts included PR techniques as an additional tool to grant it a greater specific instrumental relevance over time. On the other hand, PR scholars have tried to dissociate themselves from marketing in order acquire an independent position within the field of communication. In Spain, these conceptual differences are currently blurred due to the creation of new university degrees and double degrees combining both disciplines. This trend is evidenced within the Spanish university market which, throughout this article, will be compared to other markets, namely the American and the British ones, as a scientific reference for both concepts, and to the Portuguese one, given its geographical proximity. We will reflect on the reasons that have led the Spanish university market to combine both concepts and to offer official studies that include them in their nomenclature, far from the historical tradition in this country, where studies in public relations have been related to the field of communication, while those in marketing have been related to the field of economics. The identification of this trend in the job market of organisational communication professionals poses new challenges to training institutions, especially to universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that recruitment into general practice (GP) is low, particularly in deprived areas. Undergraduate medical students are encouraged to learn about health inequalities. However, teaching on this area has been perceived by some as uninspiring. Innovative teaching opportunities can engage students but more research is needed regarding exposure to deprived inner-city settings. Street Medics is an extra-curricular, educational initiative which enables students to join GPs doing street-outreach work. The aim of the study was to understand what motivates undergraduate medical students to engage with Street Medics and the impact of the experience. Focus group data were collected and thematically analysed. Motivating factor themes: appetite to explore; previous exposure including observation of perceived sub-optimal care to marginalised patients; perceived lack of exposure personally and in undergraduate teaching. Experience and impact themes: increased understanding of social determinants of health; change in perception; influence on career intentions; desire to incorporate into curriculum. Opportunities like Street Medics can supplement the undergraduate curriculum and not only challenge students' perceptions of marginalised patients but also ignite their enthusiasm for pursuing GP. By understanding the factors driving students' engagement in innovative educational opportunities, effective methods can be shared across undergraduate courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growth in the armed forces undertaking public policing is occurring in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and as such, a complex security landscape emerges, both practically and conceptually. The aim here is to pose questions of the manifest and latent issues in the assemblage of multiple actors in public policing. It asks the reader to consider the implications of military actors transitioning from defense duties ordinarily associated with military work, to policing activities in public spaces. Taking the London 2012 Olympic Games as our point of reference, this article argues that to understand military presence, their role must be considered in the broader context of military and policing functions, the "war on terror," accountability, and future priorities for public policing. We must be careful not to assign the presence of the military into preexisting understandings of how megaevents should be secured—the military patrolling the streets of London represents more. Instead, as their presence comes to be legitimate in certain geopolitical contexts, critical questions must be asked especially as public and private arrangements are continually reworked in the domestic fight against terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life in society is a natural imperative as human beings are not supposed nor allowed to live in isolation from their pairs. Relations of power emerge once societies are constituted by constellations of interests. Public Relations arises, thus, in the necessity of conciliating and promoting different interests among publics. Specifically, by dealing with politics, the public relations provide the logics and tools needed for a complex and uncertain environment. It also helps to turn the public opinion favourable to the accomplishment of different agents' goals. Although public relations techniques and practices have existed for millennia, the theoretical field still needs debates to diagnose and comprehend its foundations. Scholars also urge for more researches in order to suggest directions to produce innovative knowledge that effectively contributes to the development of society. The authors believe that public relations is the field of knowledge that when better understood and operationalized can promote it for its ability to deal with distinct interests among publics. In this sense, not only the (in)congruencies between public relations and politics have impacted agents doing politics, but also required a better comprehension and understanding about the state of the knowledge. Given this, the paper aims to answer the following research question: how scientific production that deals with public relations and politics in conjunction is characterised? Methodologically, the article takes the premise that the publication of academic papers is the most used and valued instrument by researchers who want to publicize the results of their investigations. It is also understood that it is the way for a specific field to lay its foundations and become both recognised and established among a community of scholars. To assess the academic production that deals both with politics and public relations, a quantitative approach was carried out in 2,291 articles and reviews published between 1937 and 2019 in journals indexed in the Scopus database, extending the analysis made by previous scientific reviews. The bibliometrics analysis encompassed the evaluation of citations, co-authorship and co-occurrence of words. Four stages of research were identified in the paper (1937-1982; 1983-1996; 1997-2004; 2005-up-to-date) and the results indicate that the number of publications follows a growing trend presenting maturity in the study of both themes conjoint. Broadly, researches deal with multidisciplinary issues and are not limited to the field of Communication, encompassing streams of research in the following areas: Humans Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Health, Natural and Medical Sciences. The most referenced papers deal with confidence and risk in democracies, network analysis, public opinion and media, and relationship management. It was also found a humanistic approach to organisations' management and a more pragmatist approach regarding the profession. The results also bring differences in comparison to previous researches that had established two schools of thought; the American pragmatist and the French critical schools. This article points to two schools of thinking regarding public relations and politics, which may be established in the United States and the United Kingdom. However, the paper does not claim that the effort presented is closed to new insights but asks for qualitative researches to have a deeper understanding of the quantitative analysis employed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Considers official attempts to manage the press in Britain in the Houses of Parliament in the 18th and 19th centuries. • Differs from previous work in that it focuses on parliament and not the civil service. • Argues for greater awareness of pre-history of PR in Britain, following similar work in Germany and the US. This paper considers a topic that has received scant attention in the historiography of public relations: official attempts to manage the press in Britain in the Houses of Parliament in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Existing accounts of the emergence of government public relations in the UK have tended to focus on the civil service in the first half of the twentieth century, but this article sheds light on a series of earlier developments, including the allocation of seats for reporters in the viewing gallery of the Commons in 1803, the construction of dedicated Reporters' Galleries in both parliamentary chambers in 1847–52 and the creation of a Westminster Lobby in 1884. Taken together, these reforms improved journalists' access to parliament in an era in which direct governmental control over newspapers lapsed. Yet, they also allowed politicians to influence media commentary by determining who was permitted access to parliament and what type of content made its way into print. A case can thus be made that Westminster, not Whitehall, played host to the earliest official attempts to manage the media in Britain, and this has important repercussions for current understandings of public relations history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present meta-analysis study systematically reviews articles on media relations published from 1945 to 2021. It aims to explore media relations research in terms of progression, journals, theories, methods and data analytical tools, media genres and platforms, geospatial distribution of discussed issues and first author affiliations, organization types, most frequently used words, and major themes covered through a quantitative content analysis and a qualitative text mining approach. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 276 articles from 2006 to 2017 were collected as the final sample. Public Relations Review has published the most articles, while the most commonly used theories were agenda setting /building theory, rhetorical theory, and framing theory. Media relations articles utilize qualitative methodologies more than quantitative ones, while the commonly used data analytical tools were content analysis, interview, survey, and case study. Our analysis of the discussed regions and geospatial distribution of first-author show that the North American, European, and Asian continents and the US, the UK, China, and Australia have relatively more publications. The majority of media relations articles discussed governmental organizations. Five themes dominated media relations articles: public relations strategy, media relations practice, mass media and journalism, state–media relations, and organizational media relations. • The present meta-analysis study systematically reviews articles on media relations published from 1945 to 2021. • PPR has published the most articles of MR, while the most commonly used theories were agenda sitting/building theory, rhetorical theory, and framing theory. • MR articles utilize qualitative methodologies more than quantitative ones, while the commonly used data analytical tools were content analysis, interview, survey, and case study. • North American, European, and Asian continents and the US, the UK, China, and Australia have relatively more publications. • Five themes dominated MR articles: public relations strategy, media relations practice, mass media and journalism, state–media relations, and organizational media relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of the British Nutrition Foundation's Healthy Eating Week in 2017. Included is a summary of resources developed, interaction with schools, universities and workplaces and the results of the pupil survey. Evaluation of the Week is also described, along with details for future plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several reports have highlighted that, within Britain, allegations of electoral fraud tend to be more common in areas with large Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities. However, the extent of this association has not yet been quantified. Using data at the local authority level, this paper shows that percentage Pakistani and Bangladeshi (logged) is a robust predictor of two measures of electoral fraud allegations: one based on designations by the Electoral Commission, and one based on police enquiries. Indeed, the association persists after controlling for other minority shares, demographic characteristics, socio-economic deprivation, and anti-immigration attitudes. I interpret this finding with reference to the growing literature on consanguinity (cousin marriage) and corruption. Rates of cousin marriage tend to be high in countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, which may have fostered norms of nepotism and in-group favoritism that persist over time. To bolster my interpretation, I use individual level survey data to show that, within Europe, migrants from countries with high rates of cousin marriage are more likely to say that family should be one's main priority in life, and are less likely to say it is wrong for a public official to request a bribe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background While media campaigns are increasingly advocated as a strategy for preventing interpersonal violence and abuse, there is little evidence available regarding their effectiveness. Setting and design Consultation with experts and young people was used as part of a UK scoping review to capture current thinking and practice on the use of media campaigns to address interpersonal violence and abuse among young people. Three focus groups and 16 interviews were undertaken with UK and international experts, and three focus groups were held with young people. Main results Participants argued that, although campaigns initially needed to target whole populations of young people, subsequently, messages should be 'granulated' for subgroups including young people already exposed to interpersonal violence and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people. It was suggested that boys, as the most likely perpetrators of interpersonal violence and abuse, should be the primary target for campaigns. Young people and experts emphasized that drama and narrative could be used to evoke an emotional response that assisted learning. Authenticity emerged as important for young people and could be achieved by delivering messages through familiar characters and relevant stories. Involving young people themselves in creating and delivering campaigns strengthened authenticity. Conclusions Practice is developing rapidly, and robust research is required to identify the key conditions for effective campaigns in this field. The emotional impact of campaigns in this field appears to be as important as the transmission of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirty years on from the dramatic and unprecedented AIDS advertising campaign in the UK organised by the Conservative government of the late 1980s, this article reassesses the experience drawing upon subsequent memoirs and interviews. It does so in the context of an emergence of risk politics in the UK in the 1980s, situated within an historical perspective on the development of risk within modernity. I emphasise the forgotten pragmatic, amoral core of the campaign which challenged the illiberal climate of the times, and how it was possible for a government defined by high moralism to challenge it. I outline the range of pressures that led to the campaign, including the conscious attempt to limit stigmatisation amidst the mood of wartime emergency that prevailed in late 1986/early 1987. Its emergency character meant little direct legacy of harm reduction has endured, but I argue for a wider significance of the campaign as a key moment in the emergence of risk politics in the UK and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of premature mortality and a major contributor of health inequalities in England. Compared to more affluent and white counterparts, deprived people and ethnic minorities tend to die younger due to preventable CVD associated with lifestyle. In addition, deprived, ethnic minorities and younger people are less likely to be served by CVD prevention services. This study assessed the effectiveness of community-based outreach providers in delivering England's National Health Services (NHS) Health Check programme, a CVD preventive programme to under-served groups.Methods: Between January 2008 and October 2013, community outreach providers delivered a preventive CVD programme to 50,573 individuals, in their local communities, in a single consultation without prescheduled appointments. Community outreach providers operated on evenings and weekends as well as during regular business hours in venues accessible to the general public. After exclusion criteria, we analysed and compared socio-demographic data of 43,177 Health Check attendees with the general population across 38 local authorities (LAs). We assessed variation between local authorities in terms of age, sex, deprivation and ethnicity structures using two sample t-tests and within local authority variation in terms of ethnicity and deprivation using Chi squared tests and two sample t-tests respectively.Results: Using Index of Multiple Deprivation, the mean deprivation score of the population reached by community outreach providers was 6.01 higher (p < 0.05) than the general population. Screened populations in 29 of 38 LAs were significantly more deprived (p < 0.05). No statistically significant difference among ethnic minority groups was observed between LAs. Nonetheless some LAs - namely Leicester, Thurrock, Sutton, South Tyneside, Portsmouth and Gateshead were very successful in recruiting ethnic minority groups. The mean proportion of men screened was 11.39% lower (p < 0.001) and mean proportion of 40-49 and 50-59 year olds was 9.98% and 3.58% higher (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.01 respectively) than the general population across 38 LAs.Conclusions: Community-based outreach providers effectively reach under-served groups by delivering preventive CVD services to younger, more deprived populations, and a representative proportion of ethnic minority groups. If the programme is successful in motivating the under-served groups to improve lifestyle, it may reduce health inequalities therein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1980s, several studies of post-war British propaganda have been published. While many of these have focused on developments abroad, some have explored domestic work carried out under the auspices of the Central Office of Information. Established in 1946, the Central Office of Information provided a range of services to government departments, including advertising and public opinion polling, but it was just part of a wider system of official communications that has tended to attract less attention in the historiography. Reorganised by Clement Attlee’s post-war Labour governments, this system was presented to the public as a means of disseminating impartial and apparently non-controversial ‘facts’ about government policy. Few commentators today accept that justification, but little is known about why it emerged after the Second World War or what impact it had on existing communications machinery. Taking a broad view of the subject that considers the inter-war and wartime antecedents to the post-war communications system, this paper seeks to fill in some of the gaps that have emerged in the literature. Focusing on shifts in official nomenclature and departmental practice, it explores the relationship propaganda shared to government policy and its broader legacy in the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is widespread concern about the growing tide of “churnalism” in the news. Commonly, such accounts are written from within and about journalism studies. But this overlooks another story that we examine in this paper: that of the public relations (PR) practitioner. Based on interviews with 28 UK PR practitioners, we document their media relations practices, their perspectives on power relations with journalists, and their normative evaluations of churnalism. We find a number of PR professionals who understand news in depth, and whose media relations practice goes beyond the classic information subsidy, to what we call an editorial subsidy: targeted, tailored, page-ready news copy that contains key client messages. PR practitioners see power relationships in complex and contradictory ways, though. Despite many circumstances working in their favour, this does not mean they necessary feel emboldened in their everyday encounters with journalists. Finally, and perhaps surprisingly, for the vast majority of practitioners, there were either professional or personal concerns about increasing churnalism. At least on the surface, very few observe journalists' recent travails with glee: most want to see a robust and independent journalism where PR input is balanced with other sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Public awareness campaigns for cancer are used to alert the UK population to symptoms which, if experienced, should be discussed with their general practitioner (GP). More timely diagnosis of cancer is assumed possible if patients with the appropriate symptoms present to GPs and GPs recognise the need to act on these symptoms. Objective: To investigate GPs’ perceptions and experiences of public awareness campaigns for cancer. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews with 55 GPs from practices in the North and North East of England and Greater London. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Repeated reading of GP transcripts engendered thematic analysis and co‐coding ensured legitimacy of findings. Results: Participants supported the underpinning ethos of public health campaigns and articulated a commitment to engaging with patients with respect to cancer warning signs and symptoms despite the common perception that public awareness campaigns increased numbers of consultations. Tensions were evident with regard to increased demands on GP time and primary care resources during a period of major upheaval within the NHS. Concern was raised that some patients remain outwith the reach of campaign messages. The complexity of addressing how public health messages compete with other issues in people's lives was identified as challenging. Conclusions: General practitioners provided insight into why some members of the general public do not engage with public health messages. Public health/primary care interaction that incorporates GPs' knowledge of their patient populations could advance the search for solutions to a more robust approach to earlier cancer recognition and referral in primary care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The UK National Health Service Health Checks programme aims to reduce avoidable cardiovascular deaths, disability and health inequalities in England. However, due to the reported lower uptake of screening in specific black and minority ethnic communities who are recognised as being more at risk of cardiovascular disease, there are concerns that NHS Health Checks may increase inequalities in health. This study aimed to examine the feasibility and acceptability of community outreach NHS Health Checks targeted at the Afro-Caribbean community.Methods: This paper reports findings from an ethnographic study including direct observation of four outreach events in four different community venues in inner-city Bristol, England and follow up semi-structured interviews with attendees (n = 16) and staff (n = 4). Interviews and field notes were transcribed, anonymized and analysed thematically using a process of constant comparison.Results: Analysis revealed the value of community assets (community engagement workers, churches, and community centres) to publicise the event and engage community members. People were motivated to attend for preventative reasons, often prompted by familial experience of cardiovascular disease. Attendees valued outreach NHS Health Checks, reinforcing or prompting some to make healthy lifestyle changes. The NHS Health Check provided an opportunity for attendees to raise other health concerns with health staff and to discuss their test results with peers. For some participants, the communication of test results, risk and lifestyle information was confusing and unwelcome. The findings additionally highlight the need to ensure community venues are fit for purpose in terms of assuring confidentiality.Conclusions: Outreach events provide evidence of how local health partnerships (family practice staff and health trainers) and community assets, including informal networks, can enhance the delivery of outreach NHS Health Checks and in promoting the health of targeted communities. To deliver NHS Health Checks effectively, the location and timing of events needs to be carefully considered and staff need to be provided with the appropriate training to ensure patients are supported and enabled to make lifestyle changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Health libraries have changed over the past fifteen years in the format of the information they provide. This is driven by developments in technology. Objectives To conduct a survey of NHS health libraries in the United Kingdom in order to summarise how mobile technologies are being used, how they are promoted and how they are delivered, highlighting good practice and solutions to issues. Methods An online survey was carried out in 2013 and sent to academic and NHS web-based discussion lists. There were 199 responses. Results Main replies were from large Acute Hospital Trusts. Only 18% of respondents had conducted research into use of mobile technology ( MT) within their Trust. Forty per cent of Trusts offered clinical point of care tools, 29% mobile catalogues, and 30% had mobile enabled web sites. Libraries utilised third-party partnerships rather than develop their own applications or tools. Seventy per cent of Trusts promoted new MT services via e-mail. Network restrictions were the main barrier to development as well as finance and expertise. Conclusions Uptake and development of MT is sporadic and driven by individuals. There is an opportunity for collaboration and sharing resources and expertise. There are benefits to adopting user-friendly resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through his enduring efforts to interrogate the regulative ideals of fieldwork, George Marcus has empowered doctoral students in anthropology to rethink their ethnographic encounters in terms that reflect novel objects and contexts of inquiry. Marcus' work has culminated in a charter for ethnographic research among 'epistemic communities' that requires 'deferral' to these elite modes of knowing. For adherents to this programme of methodological reform, the deliberately staged 'para-site' - an opportunity for ethnographers and their 'epistemic partners' to reflect upon a shared intellectual purpose - is the signature fieldwork encounter. This article draws on doctoral research carried out among the overlapping epistemic communities that comprise London's market for mining finance, and reviews an attempt to carve out a para-site of my own. Troubled by this experience, and by the ascendant style of deferent anthropology, I think through possibilities for more critical ethnographic research among epistemic elites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the promotion of civil defence or ‘national service’ in interwar Britain. Analysing a recruitment campaign organised by the Chamberlain government in 1938–1939, it explores how civil defence was promoted in newspapers, posters, leaflets, guides, radio broadcasts, speeches and rallies, and how recruiters planned and executed the campaign. Existing literature has tended to focus on the role of national servicemen and servicewomen in wartime, but little is known about how these individuals were persuaded to join up before the war began or how national service was itself presented in the media. Through an analysis of official files, correspondence, advertisements and public relations, this article argues that the campaign for national service was not simply intended to attract new recruits, but to cement in Britain the notion that any future conflict would represent a ‘people’s war’ in which each citizen would contribute an equal share towards victory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research on the PR-function is extensive, especially in the US and the UK. The manager-technician dichotomy is well known, but has been challenged by recent research where more nuanced perspectives on PR-managerial roles are displayed. In relation to this complexity of PR-managerial roles the article investigates the function and role Swedish public relations managers perform and play in their organizations. The Swedish case, with its high proportion of PR practitioners employed by public authorities, was used to further explore the complexity of PR work. The empirical data was a survey distributed to a random sample of members of the Swedish Public Relations Association, with a managerial or head/ director position, representing all industry/societal sectors. 261 persons completed the survey, giving a response rate of 30 percent. The study confirmed previous research of a more complex picture of the PR-managerial level. One important conclusion was therefore that the simple dichotomy between managers and technicians cannot be used to understand managerial level positions in the public relations context. This complexity was even further emphasized when comparing PR-mangers in the private and the public sector. One challenge pointed out for future research was to develop analyses of PR managerial roles in different types of organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As complex environments within which individuals and populations operate, universities present important contexts for understanding and addressing health issues. The healthy university is an example of the settings approach, which adopts a whole system perspective, aiming to make places within which people, learn, live, work and play supportive to health and well-being. The UK Healthy Universities Network has formulated an online toolkit, which includes a Self-Review Tool, intended to enable universities to assess what actions they need to take to develop as a healthy university. This paper presents findings from consultative research undertaken with students from universities in England, Scotland and Wales, which explored what they believe, represents a healthy university. Methods: Student surveys and focus groups were used to collect data across eleven universities in England, Scotland and Wales. A priori themes were used to develop our own model for a healthy university, and for the thematic coding phase of analysis. Findings: A healthy university would promote student health and well-being in every aspect of its business from its facilities and environment through to its curriculum. Access to reasonably priced healthy food and exercise facilities were key features of a healthy university for students in this study. The Self-Review Tool has provided a crucial start for universities undertaking the journey towards becoming a healthy university. In looking to the future both universities and the UK Healthy Universities Network will now need to look at what students want from their whole university experience, and consider how the Self-Review Tool can help universities embrace a more explicit conceptual framework. Conclusion: The concept of a healthy university that can tailor its facilities and supportive environments to the needs of its students will go some way to developing students who are active global citizens and who are more likely to value and prioritise health and well-being, in the short and long term through to their adult lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews literature to provide context for a reflective narrative on a collaborative research project undertaken by disabled people, practitioners and academics. This approach required reconsidering many aspects of methodology and practice as the research relationships are altered. The article reflects on how the collaborative and participatory approach was developed and sustained and how it impacted on the research process and its outcomes. The article explores how the group of people worked together on a complex large-scale research project to bring the voices of service users and other key players together in a discussion about social care. The article is written by one of the academic partners and draws on consortium documents and reflections from other consortium members provided for the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the lens of Institutional Entrepreneurship, this paper discusses how governments use the levers of power afforded through business and welfare systems to affect change in the organisational management of older workers. It does so using national stakeholder interviews in two contrasting economies: the United Kingdom and Japan. Both governments have taken a ‘light-touch’ approach to work and retirement. However, the highly institutionalised Japanese system affords the government greater leverage than that of the liberal UK system in changing employer practices at the workplace level. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article addresses the problem of stubbornly low levels of diversity in the communications industries, using the case of public relations to illustrate the points made. The author explores how disciplinary discourses of occupational practice and identity combine with representations of normative embodiment to construct and communicate a system of informal credentialism in the field that marginalises certain identities. Through a critical discourse analysis of formal texts that circulate across the industry, the author illustrates how apparently value-neutral presentations of PR work and workers exclude BME and working-class practitioners who cannot easily demonstrate a natural ‘fit’ with client, consultancy or colleague. The findings illustrate how the construction of informal credentialism through discourse may be acting as a powerful source of closure across the communications industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to the debate on the relationship between marketing and propaganda through an analysis of social marketing as a mode of governing in permanent campaigning. The working hypothesis is that social marketing operations are agitational rather than propagandistic. The conceptual approach stems from a comparison of propaganda and marketing with Fordist and post-Fordist modes of production and governance. The research into the role of agitation involves an empirical study of the UK government campaign against benefit fraud, the most expensive of its kind. Using a combination of methodologies, the political context is framed through a discourse analysis that charts the historical emergence of the problem of benefit fraud and the material effects of this discourse on welfare spending allocation, content analysis is used to identify correspondences between different newspapers’ rhetoric and policy under different governments, and semiotic analysis helps to decode the message of the campaign against benefit fraud, as it relates to the overall government's strategy on this issue. The study offers insights into the political strategy of the government of New Labour between 1997 and 2010 and its resort to agitational techniques, exposing the limitations of government marketing and public relations in the context of an overall crisis of its political legitimacy, in both economic and political terms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Highlights: [•] Global models in the theory and practice of public relations tend toward hegemony and simplification. [•] The UK and Singapore are exemplars where hegemony has arguably succeeded and where it needs to be resisted, respectively. [•] Theoretical diversity is required to reflect the complexity of globalization. [•] Epistemological and practical subsidiarity can and should lead the way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identity-related crimes pose a significant problem to both the UK economy and also its citizens because they cause estimated annual losses of around £1.5billion. Not only do identity crimes cause considerable public concern, but they also create challenges for policing them; not least, because policing responses, in the broader regulatory sense, are often over-reactive or take the form of dramatic Public Relations gestures rather than coherent policing policy. Yet, the realities of identity-related crimes are quite different from the ways that they are perceived and even more important is that fact that this difference presents many challenges for those whose job is to ‘police’ them. This article will look at what identity crimes are and at the very real problems they pose for policing them as non-routine policing activities. The article will, firstly, map out identity crimes and outline the behaviours that we understand as identity crimes and their core characteristics. It will then consider how the characteristics map onto traditional police practice and consider some of the ways that the challenges have been addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 20 years science news has been written by dwindling numbers of reporters, with higher workloads, and less time than previously to conduct tasks such as finding, researching, and checking news stories. Simultaneously, a growing science communication sector is developing more power to influence what, and how, such news is reported. This paper examines media coverage of animal–human hybrid embryos in the context of a highly efficient public relations campaign by a coalition of scientists and scientific organisations in the United Kingdom. It draws on the findings of a comprehensive content analysis of UK national press coverage of the issue, and 16 semi-structured interviews with specialist science journalists, key news sources, and press officers on both sides of a polarised media debate. We argue that while science communicators won a convincing media victory, the broad (and unintended) effects of such campaigns highlight concerns about media independence, and the openness and quality of public and scientific debate about controversial science. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores the institutionalized nature of racism in public relations (PR) in the United Kingdom, a situation that originates in the occupation's history and continues to disadvantage PR practitioners from Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. Drawing on a qualitative study of the experiences of BAME PR practitioners, I consider how institutional racism makes itself felt in their professional lives and the strategies they use to address it. My central argument is that institutional racism operates across the PR industry, potentially affecting their mediation of culture both within and beyond the context of cultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Women's career experiences in British public relations in 1970s/1980s were exciting. [•] Evidence of agentic self-efficacy, not typically expected from women. [•] Male and female proxy agents and personal agency approach found. [•] Career experiences were not acknowledged as gendered labour. [•] Women did not act as change agents and were critical of subsequent generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study which examines if the Great Britain National Institute for Health Research Service Delivery and Organisation Management Fellowship programme results in more engagement and exchange between researchers and managers. It was found that the aim of the programme to increase engagement and exchange was largely achieved.

Science journalists in the UK face a number of significant challenges, some shared by journalists in general and some specific to the reporting of science. The world of journalism is changing rapidly as online media grow, squeezing resources and putting pressure on journalists to produce maximum output on minimum resources. The effect is to threaten to shift the role of science news production away from science journalists to public relations (PR) professionals, and to reduce the essential democratic role of the journalist holding the spenders of public money to account. Evidence for this is offered from recent research into the state of science journalism in the UK, and from a BBC-commissioned report into the impartiality of new science coverage in the UK by the state broadcaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manolio et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2012;175:859–866) proposed that large cohort studies adopt novel models using “temporary assessment centers” to enroll up to a million participants to answer research questions about rare diseases and “harmonize” clinical endpoints collected from administrative records. Extreme selection bias, we are told, will not harm internal validity, and “process expertise to maximize efficiency of high-throughput operations is as important as scientific rigor” (p. 861). In this article, we describe serious deficiencies in this model as applied to the United States. Key points include: 1) the need for more, not less, specification of disease endpoints; 2) the limited utility of data collected from existing administrative and clinical databases; and 3) the value of university-based centers in providing scientific expertise and achieving high recruitment and retention rates through community and healthcare provider engagement. Careful definition of sampling frames and high response rates are crucial to avoid bias and ensure inclusion of important subpopulations, especially the medically underserved. Prospective hypotheses are essential to refine study design, determine sample size, develop pertinent data collection protocols, and achieve alliances with participants and communities. It is premature to reject the strengths of large national cohort studies in favor of a new model for which evidence of efficiency is insufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper aims to use and expand on the important work of the Healthy Universities' approach within higher education and the role the University can have in promoting health and well-being among staff, students and the local community. It focuses upon what we perceive to be important policy and practice developments to take forward the University of Greenwich Healthy Universities' pilot initiative (part of the national strategy). It sets out the background to the national Healthy Universities' strategy within the settings-based approach and briefly outlines the University of Greenwich Healthy Universities' pilot initiative; it then proceeds to outline three distinct but connected social and policy contexts that can be argued for to take forward and embed the initiative within the University. First, we focus on developments in current government policy, which emphasise the need to include concepts of health and well-being throughout policy and practice as a strategic and outcome tool. Second, we locate the initiative within ideas around community action and engagement, emphasising the need for it to be embedded locally; and third, we locate the local initiative within the wider setting of global and technological changes to strengthen the case for continued development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to set out the Law Commission's proposals for the reform of the law relating to UK health professional regulation and, in England only, social workers. Design/methodology/approach – The paper summarises the main provisional proposals from the consultation paper. Findings – The consultation paper argued for the reform of the law in this area. Practical implications – There are suggestions for reforming the law which could form the basis of a new legal framework introduced in 2014. Originality/value – The paper sets out the proposed new legal framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: On 19th January 2004, the UK government published An Independent Review of Government Communications () known as the Phillis Review, and announced that it would implement the recommendations in full. In the early 2000s, under the Government of the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, there was some blurring of the lines between the role of impartial government communicators who were members of the Government Information and Communication Service (GICS) and politically appointed Special Advisors. In 1997, Alistair Campbell, Director of Communication, and Blair''s Special Advisor, had been given the power to direct government communicators and subsequently there were a number of incidents that reinforced the view that propriety lines were being breached. It was felt that the GICS was being increasingly politicised. The Phillis Review led to far reaching change, the most important being the appointment of a Permanent Secretary, a civil servant of the most senior rank to lead GICS. The impact on the GICS was significant. It re-established its independence from political advisors, its numbers increased and it found a renewed confidence and role in Government and public life. This apparent progress came to an abrupt halt in 2010. As part of its austerity measures to address the budget deficit, Government spending on communications was frozen and in January 2011, Matt Tee, the incumbent Permanent Secretary was made redundant and left Government service in March 2011. In June and December 2011, the Government made announcements that there would be far reaching changes to Government communications which will be implemented by the Spring of 2012. This includes the appointment of a civil servant of lesser grade to head the service. So, what does this mean for Government communications? This paper reflects on the changes in Government communications in the first decade of the 21st century and concludes that in many ways it has come full circle – history is in danger of repeating itself. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The British government has been criticised for according industry interests too much weight in alcohol policy-making. Consequently, it has been argued that alcohol strategy in the UK is built around policies for which the evidence base is weak. This has clear implications for public health. The purpose of this commentary is to map recent developments in UK alcohol policy and related debates within the alcohol policy literature, thus laying the foundations for a systematic examination of the influence of the alcohol industry on alcohol policy. It highlights the changing structure of the industry and summarises what is known about the positions and strategies of industry actors towards alcohol policy. In so doing, it aims to contribute not just to debates about alcohol policy, but to a broader understanding of health policy processes and the relationships between government and other stakeholders. It advances a new research agenda focused on the role of corporate actors in the field of alcohol policy and public health more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A perennial theme in the literature of religion and mental health is the need for dialogue between psychiatry and faith-based organisations in the care of people with mental health problems. These worlds are often depicted as oppositional and antagonistic; at times the boundaries are so tightly drawn that it is hard to see where they might share values and concerns. This paper examines the interface areas of religion and mental health care in order to consider where consensus and from where collaboration might emerge. We suggest that while certainly there is a need for dialogue and mutual understanding, there is also a need for psychiatry and faith groups to explore the nature and boundaries of proposed relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]