Purpose – Value co-creation thinking is reshaping the understanding of markets and marketing and presents a significant opportunity to develop the theory and practice of social marketing. However, whilst value co-creation offers thought-provoking new directions for the field, applying this theory and its core concepts in social marketing is not without significant challenges. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper that seeks to integrate lessons from social marketing practice with the value co-creation discourse from commercial marketing. Drawing upon two projects that have applied principles of collaboration and co-design, the paper provides a critical perspective on the adoption of value co-creation in social marketing. Findings – The collaborative and emancipatory ambitions of co-creation seem highly compatible with social marketing. However, the paper notes some significant conceptual, ethical and practical obstacles in the path of a workable theory of value co-creation for social marketing. Originality/value – While representation of value co-creation and other collaborative approaches is increasing in the social marketing literature, this is the first attempt to provide an integrated and critical review of their compatibility with social marketing at a conceptual, ethical and theoretical level. The analysis shows that value co-creation theory can simultaneously offer opportunities and present obstacles for social marketing.

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In New Zealand, around half of the lowland water bodies do not meet water quality standards, primarily due to widespread changes in land use. Riparian restoration has been occurring in New Zealand for over 30 years in an effort to minimize this impact, however, little monitoring of restoration effectiveness has been undertaken. This study evaluated the impact of riparian plantings on water quality of lowland streams in the Lake Ellesmere catchment. A paired-catchment design on four river reaches was used to compare restored riparian buffers with control sites upstream. Chemical water quality sampling was used in conjunction with a macroinvertebrate community assessment. Equivocal benefits of riparian restoration were observed, with improvements in some variables but not in others. Riparian restoration had a positive effect on water quality in terms of increasing dissolved oxygen and decreasing turbidity. However, conductivity increased at planted sites and no changes were observed in other variables. These findings may be affected by the insufficient width of all four buffers, and gaps in the buffer system contributing to poor water quality. Although variable responses were seen in invertebrate community composition, this research suggests that even narrow planted buffer strips may be effective in improving some water quality parameters. The overall mixed results present a fair assessment of the benefits of riparian restoration that may be expected within a relatively short time following vegetation establishment. Even when no baseline data have been established prior to restoration, this research showed monitoring can demonstrate the effectiveness of riparian restoration.

A flock of the Athens Canadian Random Bred (ACRB), a 1955 meat-type chicken control strain, was raised alongside a flock of 2012 Cobb 500 fast feathering high-yielding broilers to determine selection changes over the past 57 yr. All birds were reared under management practices appropriate for the Cobb 500. Birds were weighed weekly and processed at 6, 8, and 10 wk. Whole carcass, carcass parts, and organs were weighed. Modern broilers outweighed ACRB at every age, ranging from 3.7 to 4.7 times the size of the ACRB. All parts and organs were compared as a percentage of live fasted BW. The ACRB had significantly heavier feet, wings, internal organs, and feathers. The modern Cobb broiler had double the breast and larger leg muscles and had a significantly greater fat pad. Despite the larger muscle mass, the supply organs, the heart and lungs, were significantly smaller in the Cobb broiler than the ACRB as a percentage of BW. Relative size of supply and other vital organs should be given consideration for genetic selection of the future broiler. Comparisons of ACRB weights and organ percentages with past published data indicates that the ACRB remains a consistent control strain.

The University of Georgia maintains two meat-type chicken control strains: the Athens Random Bred (ARB) and the Athens Canadian Random Bred (ACRB). The Athens Random Bred was developed from colored plumage commercial meat chicken strains in 1956. The ACRB is a replicate population of the Ottawa Meat Control strain which was developed in 1955 from white plumage commercial meat-type chickens. These genetic lines have been extremely valuable research resources and have been used extensively to provide comparative context to modern meat-type strains. The ACRB may be the oldest pedigreed control commercial meat-type chicken still in existence today. This paper reviews the history of the breed backgrounds for both control populations and reviews research utilizing the ACRB.

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Background: This study aims to determine the nature of United States Institutional Review Board (IRB) policy in a broad spectrum of research settings regarding the return of results to study participants. Method: IRB policies or standard operating procedures of 207 Medical School, Industry and Nonmedical School IRBs were examined on-line to determine if they incorporated specific reference to the return of results to participants at the conclusion of the research. Results: The majority of IRBs had no available policy regarding the return of research results to participants [56% (n=116)]. A further third [36.3% (n=75)] had policies that were defined as vague or that only indirectly mentioned the return of results. Medical School IRBs were more likely to have a policy than Industry or Non-medical University IRBs, respectively (odds ratio, 4.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.84 to 11.66 and odds ratio, 3.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.75 to 5.25). Few provided any guidance as to the process of return of results. Of the IRBs that had a research results policy, 54.9% (n=50) specifically addressed genetic research. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate a marked lack of uniformity in IRB policy regarding the return of study results with over half providing no guidance.