Purpose -This paper aims to examine salient issues in the packaged food business with special focus on packaging and its crucial role covering food marketing, best practices in the food and drinks industry, product innovation, food safety and quality, food supply chain management and emerging trends. Design/methodology/approach -Phenomenological research has raised awareness and increased insight into critical issues in the packaged food business. The approach is based on observation of the business environment, online research, a close watch on British food industry, analysis of papers in journals, and brainstorming with co-researchers for four years. Findings -The research has found that the key trends fostering growth in developed packaged food markets are convenience, functionality and indulgence. The real value of packaging is that the package is an integral part of the product today. Besides, food products frequently require the general marketing approaches and techniques applied to the marketing of other kinds of products and services. In addition, for the food industry to improve further, it needs to adopt the best practices shown in this research paper. Moreover, while going for product innovation, some critical success factors must be taken into account. Furthermore, the objective of all quality assurance systems exercised by food manufacturers and processors, is to produce safe products that comply with manufacturers' specifications, including the requirements established by governments. On top of that, the companies that are the most progressive in the management of the supply chain are expected to be the most successful and profitable. Last, but not least, companies should look forward to emerging trends for business success. All these critical issues must be observed in a packaged food business for superior performance. Research limitations/implications -Company surveys have not been performed due to the limited access of the research to well-developed Western food markets. Hence, company surveys may be the next step to further identify critical issues in the packaged food business from the perspective of existing corporations. Originality/value -This paper offers a holistic view that would guide a reader to identify critical issues in packaged food in existing or new businesses.

This paper presents two types of dual band (2.4 and 5.8 GHz) wearable planar dipole antennas, one printed on a conventional substrate and the other on a two-dimensional metamaterial surface (Electromagnetic Bandgap (EBG) structure). The operation of both antennas is investigated and compared under different bending conditions (in E and H-planes) around human arm and leg of different radii. A dual band, Electromagnetic Band Gap (EBG) structure on a wearable substrate is used as a high impedance surface to control the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) as well as to improve the antenna gain up to 4.45 dBi. The EBG inspired antenna has reduced the SAR effects on human body to a safe level (< 2W/Kg). I.e. the SAR is reduced by 83.3% for lower band and 92.8% for higher band as compared to the conventional antenna. The proposed antenna can be used for wearable applications with least health hazard to human body in Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band (2.4 GHz, 5.2 GHz) applications. The antennas on human body are simulated and analyzed in CST Microwave Studio (CST MWS).

This paper investigates the behaviour and strength of structural steel bolted connections whose failure modes involve shear yielding and/or fracture. Such failure modes include the shear-out (or tearout) and the block shear failure modes. The use of shear failure planes corresponding to the bolt diameter is shown to result in significant overestimations of the ultimate capacities for bolted connections with reduced or no hole clearance. In contrast, the use of the effective (or active) shear planes are consistently accurate for the specimens with standard, oversize or no clearance bolt holes. The paper points out that the location of fracture initiation can be easily misidentified by a superficial inspection of the deformed and fractured state of the bolt hole. The paper also explains that the ultimate shear-out capacity of a steel bolted connection can be reached without fracture due to geometric changes downstream of the bolt, provided the reduction in resistance is not offset by strain hardening. The explanation is demonstrated through a finite element analysis that does not simulate fracture, but is able to accurately determine the ultimate shear-out capacity of a high-strength steel specimen tested by independent researchers.

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Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.