title: Strategic marketing in action: A comparison of higher and lower performing manufacturing firms in the UK

authors: Brooksbank, Roger

subjects: business performance

abstract: Purpose – To contrast the role and practical application of strategic marketing in higher and lower-performing firms. 
Design/methodology/approach – In-depth personal interviews with senior marketing executives in three matched high/low performing manufacturing firms in the UK were recorded, transcribed and analysed. The interview agenda was derived from the authors' own previous research studies, plus precedents in the literature. 
Findings – These are structured around four key strategic marketing activities previously found to be characteristic of higher performing firms. They clearly show that such companies implement them with a far greater degree of skill, sophistication and ingenuity than do their lower performing counterparts. Above all, for the higher performers, strategic marketing is a truly cross-functional activity. 
Research limitations/implications – The methodology of this study indicates a fruitful approach to further research aimed at extending and refining the findings and recommendations, though details requiring methodological attention are identified. 
Originality/value – As an aid to marketing practitioners and educators alike, these findings and conclusions identify and describes a number of specific, applicable characteristics of successful strategic marketing.

text: Strategic marketing in action: A comparison of higher and lower performing manufacturing firms in the UK Purpose – To contrast the role and practical application of strategic marketing in higher and lower-performing firms. 
Design/methodology/approach – In-depth personal interviews with senior marketing executives in three matched high/low performing manufacturing firms in the UK were recorded, transcribed and analysed. The interview agenda was derived from the authors' own previous research studies, plus precedents in the literature. 
Findings – These are structured around four key strategic marketing activities previously found to be characteristic of higher performing firms. They clearly show that such companies implement them with a far greater degree of skill, sophistication and ingenuity than do their lower performing counterparts. Above all, for the higher performers, strategic marketing is a truly cross-functional activity. 
Research limitations/implications – The methodology of this study indicates a fruitful approach to further research aimed at extending and refining the findings and recommendations, though details requiring methodological attention are identified. 
Originality/value – As an aid to marketing practitioners and educators alike, these findings and conclusions identify and describes a number of specific, applicable characteristics of successful strategic marketing.

year: 2007

title: Dispositions, disciplines, and marble runs: a case study of resourcefulness

authors: Carr, Margaret

subjects: computer science

abstract: In this paper, three researchers and two teachers have zoomed in on three 'mid-level' episodes of learning in a childcare centre and analyzed them using two lenses: a dispositional lens and a disciplinary (science) practices lens. We wonder how these two perspectives could be combined, in order to provide a coherent and illuminating analysis of the learning and to have something to say about the transactional and progressive processes towards 'being a competent learner' and 'being a scientist' that might be at work here. We have found the notion of 'resourcefulness' to be a useful boundary object; it works differently in the different lenses, but has core features in common. We look back across three documented learning episodes and teacher reflections from an early childhood centre, and consider ways in which 'resourcefulness' can provide a boundary-crossing concept that has value for discussions about learning across educational sectors.

text: Dispositions, disciplines, and marble runs: a case study of resourcefulness In this paper, three researchers and two teachers have zoomed in on three 'mid-level' episodes of learning in a childcare centre and analyzed them using two lenses: a dispositional lens and a disciplinary (science) practices lens. We wonder how these two perspectives could be combined, in order to provide a coherent and illuminating analysis of the learning and to have something to say about the transactional and progressive processes towards 'being a competent learner' and 'being a scientist' that might be at work here. We have found the notion of 'resourcefulness' to be a useful boundary object; it works differently in the different lenses, but has core features in common. We look back across three documented learning episodes and teacher reflections from an early childhood centre, and consider ways in which 'resourcefulness' can provide a boundary-crossing concept that has value for discussions about learning across educational sectors.

year: 2010

title: Harakeke (Phormium tenax) ecology and historical management by Maori: The changing landscape in New Zealand

authors: Wehi, Priscilla M.

subjects: ethnobotany

abstract: Harakeke (Phormium tenax: Phormiaceae) is an important weaving resource for the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand. This research project investigates Maori knowledge of harakeke ecology and management practices prior to the early 20th century within the context of a study of relevant environmental parameters that limit its natural distribution. Ecological information referring to harakeke was analysed from interviews with elders and ancestral sayings (whakatauki). As well, documents from the late 181h to the early 20th century were examined, and environmental parameters for both harakeke and wharariki (Phormium cookianum) were quantified and analysed using correlative models. 
Interviews with 11 elders (from Waikato and Northland) identified key issues in harakeke management, including 'correct' harvesting procedures, use of natural harakeke stands, and specific use of different varieties. Planting practices varied regionally. Three different methods of excess harakeke disposal were reported, including burning. The 15 whakatauki analysed emphasise the interconnectedness of ecosystems, including pollinator-plant relationships for kaka and bellbirds. Four whakataukirefer to environmental tolerances for harakeke and two to the use of fire to stimulate harakeke growth. Others refer to competition between shoots, nutrient requirements, and the growth and multiplication of harakeke offsets. 
Numerous early reports indicate that harakeke has been cultivated throughout much of New Zealand, with cultivations ranging in size from a few bushes to at least several acres. Thirty six varieties were linked to specific weaving uses. Twenty varieties were cultivated, but ten prized fibre varieties were also harvested from natural stands. Numbers of recorded varieties varied between districts, with 31 recorded in Taranaki but only two recorded by name for Northland. Valued varieties, including raumoa and oue, were dispersed throughout the North Island. Mapping different varieties revealed a wide spatial spread for varieties such as rataroa and oue. Specific management techniques included seed germination as well as vegetative propagation. Early records of harakeke pests were not found. Records of harakeke irrigation and the use of fire indicate that Maori created suitable conditions for new cultivations or pii harakeke, which may also have prevented insect infestation. Cumulatively, there is evidence of extensive active management of harakeke. Wharariki and harakeke were found to have distinct environmental niches, with wharariki better able to withstand cooler temperatures, higher rainfall and greater frequency of ground frost than harakeke.
Predictive mapping of harakeke for the northern region of New Zealand shows a low probability of naturally occurring harakeke in much of the Northland and Waikato interior, and a high probability in coastal areas with warm temperatures. It seems likely that Maori transported harakeke into areas where it was unlikely to have occurred naturally and that some apparently 'natural' stands ofharakeke were created and maintained by Maori.
Maori cultivation, dispersal and active management of harakeke, as well as possible creation of wetland areas, emphasises the importance of harakeke as an economic resource prior to European colonisation, and indicates how the New Zealand landscape may have been transformed. Maori ecological knowledge can contribute new perspectives to restoration ecology and ecosystem research.

text: Harakeke (Phormium tenax) ecology and historical management by Maori: The changing landscape in New Zealand Harakeke (Phormium tenax: Phormiaceae) is an important weaving resource for the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand. This research project investigates Maori knowledge of harakeke ecology and management practices prior to the early 20th century within the context of a study of relevant environmental parameters that limit its natural distribution. Ecological information referring to harakeke was analysed from interviews with elders and ancestral sayings (whakatauki). As well, documents from the late 181h to the early 20th century were examined, and environmental parameters for both harakeke and wharariki (Phormium cookianum) were quantified and analysed using correlative models. 
Interviews with 11 elders (from Waikato and Northland) identified key issues in harakeke management, including 'correct' harvesting procedures, use of natural harakeke stands, and specific use of different varieties. Planting practices varied regionally. Three different methods of excess harakeke disposal were reported, including burning. The 15 whakatauki analysed emphasise the interconnectedness of ecosystems, including pollinator-plant relationships for kaka and bellbirds. Four whakataukirefer to environmental tolerances for harakeke and two to the use of fire to stimulate harakeke growth. Others refer to competition between shoots, nutrient requirements, and the growth and multiplication of harakeke offsets. 
Numerous early reports indicate that harakeke has been cultivated throughout much of New Zealand, with cultivations ranging in size from a few bushes to at least several acres. Thirty six varieties were linked to specific weaving uses. Twenty varieties were cultivated, but ten prized fibre varieties were also harvested from natural stands. Numbers of recorded varieties varied between districts, with 31 recorded in Taranaki but only two recorded by name for Northland. Valued varieties, including raumoa and oue, were dispersed throughout the North Island. Mapping different varieties revealed a wide spatial spread for varieties such as rataroa and oue. Specific management techniques included seed germination as well as vegetative propagation. Early records of harakeke pests were not found. Records of harakeke irrigation and the use of fire indicate that Maori created suitable conditions for new cultivations or pii harakeke, which may also have prevented insect infestation. Cumulatively, there is evidence of extensive active management of harakeke. Wharariki and harakeke were found to have distinct environmental niches, with wharariki better able to withstand cooler temperatures, higher rainfall and greater frequency of ground frost than harakeke.
Predictive mapping of harakeke for the northern region of New Zealand shows a low probability of naturally occurring harakeke in much of the Northland and Waikato interior, and a high probability in coastal areas with warm temperatures. It seems likely that Maori transported harakeke into areas where it was unlikely to have occurred naturally and that some apparently 'natural' stands ofharakeke were created and maintained by Maori.
Maori cultivation, dispersal and active management of harakeke, as well as possible creation of wetland areas, emphasises the importance of harakeke as an economic resource prior to European colonisation, and indicates how the New Zealand landscape may have been transformed. Maori ecological knowledge can contribute new perspectives to restoration ecology and ecosystem research.

year: 2005