title: Positioning Functional Foods for Sports Performance - A Case Study: A food producer's communication with external stakeholder groups

authors: Johnson, Vanessa

subjects: Functional Foods

abstract: Increased consumer and professional interest in healthy foods and beverages, coupled with recent advances in food science technology, have seen food-producing organisations create and market food products claiming to offer physiological benefits beyond their basic nutritional value. These functional foods have sparked considerable public debate despite growing in popularity and availability. To date, empirical research on functional foods has focused mostly on consumer and medical professional perspectives. However, this case study focuses on the perspective of the food-producing organisation. In this case study I examine how one food-producing organisation tries to balance the tensions it faces in developing and producing functional foods. My interest is in how organisational assumptions affect research and development decisions, and subsequent communication with external stakeholders. The functional foods are beverages which can aid sports performance. The external stakeholders are to primarily be sportspeople (meaning highly competitive sportspeople and elite athletes), but I also include other relevant external stakeholder groups such as coaches, and health professionals. The data collection comprises semi-structured one-on-one interviews with organisational members involved in research and development, nutrition claims, marketing, and branding; together, with a review of secondary organisational information taken from websites and advertisements. The interpretive thematic analysis shows that this food-producing organisation made specific organisational assumptions about health, functional foods, sportspeople, and other consumer groups. The findings demonstrate that the organisation juggles multiple identities at a product, brand and organisational level in order to connect with the broadest range of stakeholders possible. This creates tensions concerning where the focus for product development, branding, and other communication should reside, which have financial and legislative consequences; in turn potentially affecting organisational reputation. One implication of this research is that in trying to connect with too broad a range of stakeholders the organisation may start losing the brand credibility it has thus far built up with specific consumer groups, such as sportspeople, and compromise the respect of professional interest groups and expert stakeholders.

text: Positioning Functional Foods for Sports Performance - A Case Study: A food producer's communication with external stakeholder groups Increased consumer and professional interest in healthy foods and beverages, coupled with recent advances in food science technology, have seen food-producing organisations create and market food products claiming to offer physiological benefits beyond their basic nutritional value. These functional foods have sparked considerable public debate despite growing in popularity and availability. To date, empirical research on functional foods has focused mostly on consumer and medical professional perspectives. However, this case study focuses on the perspective of the food-producing organisation. In this case study I examine how one food-producing organisation tries to balance the tensions it faces in developing and producing functional foods. My interest is in how organisational assumptions affect research and development decisions, and subsequent communication with external stakeholders. The functional foods are beverages which can aid sports performance. The external stakeholders are to primarily be sportspeople (meaning highly competitive sportspeople and elite athletes), but I also include other relevant external stakeholder groups such as coaches, and health professionals. The data collection comprises semi-structured one-on-one interviews with organisational members involved in research and development, nutrition claims, marketing, and branding; together, with a review of secondary organisational information taken from websites and advertisements. The interpretive thematic analysis shows that this food-producing organisation made specific organisational assumptions about health, functional foods, sportspeople, and other consumer groups. The findings demonstrate that the organisation juggles multiple identities at a product, brand and organisational level in order to connect with the broadest range of stakeholders possible. This creates tensions concerning where the focus for product development, branding, and other communication should reside, which have financial and legislative consequences; in turn potentially affecting organisational reputation. One implication of this research is that in trying to connect with too broad a range of stakeholders the organisation may start losing the brand credibility it has thus far built up with specific consumer groups, such as sportspeople, and compromise the respect of professional interest groups and expert stakeholders.

year: 2011

title: Methylation of [Pt₂(μ-SR) (μ-S) (PPh₃)₄]: en route to mixed-thiolato bridged complexes

authors: Chong, Siew Huay

subjects: alkylation

abstract: Sequential and independent alkylation of [Pt₂(μ-SR) (μ-S) (PPh₃)₄] by RX followed by methylation with Me₂SO₄ led to the first successful isolation of novel diplatinum complexes [Pt₂(μ-SR) (μ -SCH₃) (PPh₃)₄](PF₆)₂ (3) (R= CH₂C₆H₅(a), CH₂CHCH₂ (b), C₅H₁₀CO₂CH₂CH₃(c), C₂H₄CO₂- CH₂CH₃(d), CH₂CH₂CN (e), C₂H₄CH-(O)₂C₂H₄ (f), and C₂H₄SC₆H₅(g)) with asymmetric thiolato bridges. The synthetic methodology can tolerate a range of electronically and sterically contrasting thiolate substituents with different chemical functionalities. The X-ray crystal structures of 3 a–c, g confirm the unusual heterodialkylation with two different thiolato bridging ligands in a syn–exo conformation. A secondary product [Pt₂(μ-SC₂H₄SC₆H₅) (μ-SCH₃)(PPh₃)₃](PF₆)₂ (4), which arises from intramolecular phosphine displacement by the thio pendant at the neighboring SC₂H₄SC₆H₅bridge, has been trapped and characterized. This is an unusual diplatinum complex with three different bridging thio ligands and three different phosphines.
The heteroalkylation is screened in situ by ESI-MS, and the resultant spectral data provide a convenient guide for one-pot syntheses of {M₂(SR) (SR’)} from {M₂S}. The isolation and X-ray crystal structure of a homoalkylated analogue [Pt₂(μ-SCH₃)₂(PPh₃)₄](PF₆)₂ (6) is included for comparison.

text: Methylation of [Pt₂(μ-SR) (μ-S) (PPh₃)₄]: en route to mixed-thiolato bridged complexes Sequential and independent alkylation of [Pt₂(μ-SR) (μ-S) (PPh₃)₄] by RX followed by methylation with Me₂SO₄ led to the first successful isolation of novel diplatinum complexes [Pt₂(μ-SR) (μ -SCH₃) (PPh₃)₄](PF₆)₂ (3) (R= CH₂C₆H₅(a), CH₂CHCH₂ (b), C₅H₁₀CO₂CH₂CH₃(c), C₂H₄CO₂- CH₂CH₃(d), CH₂CH₂CN (e), C₂H₄CH-(O)₂C₂H₄ (f), and C₂H₄SC₆H₅(g)) with asymmetric thiolato bridges. The synthetic methodology can tolerate a range of electronically and sterically contrasting thiolate substituents with different chemical functionalities. The X-ray crystal structures of 3 a–c, g confirm the unusual heterodialkylation with two different thiolato bridging ligands in a syn–exo conformation. A secondary product [Pt₂(μ-SC₂H₄SC₆H₅) (μ-SCH₃)(PPh₃)₃](PF₆)₂ (4), which arises from intramolecular phosphine displacement by the thio pendant at the neighboring SC₂H₄SC₆H₅bridge, has been trapped and characterized. This is an unusual diplatinum complex with three different bridging thio ligands and three different phosphines.
The heteroalkylation is screened in situ by ESI-MS, and the resultant spectral data provide a convenient guide for one-pot syntheses of {M₂(SR) (SR’)} from {M₂S}. The isolation and X-ray crystal structure of a homoalkylated analogue [Pt₂(μ-SCH₃)₂(PPh₃)₄](PF₆)₂ (6) is included for comparison.

year: 2006

title: How many deaths were caused by the Tarawera eruption?

authors: Lowe, David J.

abstract: Most texts and brochures describing the Tarawera eruption of 10 June, l 886, record that it resulted in about 150 fatalities (e.g., Scott & Nairn, 1989; Ansell & Taber, 1996). Indeed, a figure of 153 deaths is recorded at the excellent new visitors' centre at the Buried Village, Te Wairoa, and in a number of other contexts. Elsewhere, numbers ranging from as few as about one hundred to possibly 'thousands' of deaths have been suggested (e.g., Houghton & Johnston, 1999).

text: How many deaths were caused by the Tarawera eruption? Most texts and brochures describing the Tarawera eruption of 10 June, l 886, record that it resulted in about 150 fatalities (e.g., Scott & Nairn, 1989; Ansell & Taber, 1996). Indeed, a figure of 153 deaths is recorded at the excellent new visitors' centre at the Buried Village, Te Wairoa, and in a number of other contexts. Elsewhere, numbers ranging from as few as about one hundred to possibly 'thousands' of deaths have been suggested (e.g., Houghton & Johnston, 1999).

year: 2001