Supporting the case for “progressive universalism” in health visiting: Scottish mothers and health visitors’ perspectives on targeting and rationing health visiting services, with a focus on the Lothian Child Concern Model.

Aims. To explore parents and professionals’ experience of family assessment in health visiting (public health nursing), with a focus on the Lothian Child Concern Model (LCCM). Background. Health visitors (HVs) currently assess families as requiring core, additional or intensive support, and offer support at a corresponding level. The majority of families are assessed as core and receive no pro-active support beyond the early days. Previous assessment tools, consisting of checklists, have been criticised as being ineffective in identifying a range of health needs and unacceptable to parents and HVs. The LCCM model was developed and introduced in the study area to promote a partnership approach with parents and assess strengths as well as difficulties in parents’ capacity to care for their child. Methods. Qualitative methods were used. Ten mothers and twelve HVs took part in individual semi-structured interviews. Results. Most mothers were aware of the assessment process but some felt that they were not involved in the decision making process. Explaining the assessment process to parents is problematic and not all HVs do so. The assessment process was stressful for some mothers. HVs find the model useful for structuring and documenting the assessment process. Many believe that most families benefit from some support, using public health approaches. Families are often assessed as core because there are insufficient resources to support all those who meet the criteria of the additional category, and managers assess caseloads in terms of families with child protection concerns. Conclusions. The study findings support the concept of “progressive universalism” which provides a continuum of intensity of support to families, depending on need. Mothers would like better partnership working with HVs. Relevance to clinical practice. The study endorses proposed policy changes to re-establish the public health role of HVs and to lower the threshold for families to qualify for support.

The impact of interconnectedness in a triadic relationship between a financial services provider, IFAs, and customers.

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of interconnectedness between a long-term savings and investments provider, Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) and customers. Ritter’s (2000) framework of the effect of interconnectedness was used to analyse this triadic relationship. Conceptual studies of triadic business relationships are scarce in marketing and organisational research (Blakenburg & Johanson, 1992; Havila, Johnson & Thilenius, 2004; Ritter, 2000). However, the applicability of a triadic relationship has been tested in a number of case studies (Andersson & Mattsson, 2004; Cunningham & Pyatt, 1989; Jaaskelainen, Kuivalainen & Saarenketo, 2000; Narayandas, 2002; Odorici & Corrado, 2004; Pardo & Salle, 1994; Trimachi, 2002). This study was conducted in collaboration with one of the UK’s largest long-term savings and investments providers. A substantial proportion of the provider’s business is conducted through IFAs and thus their significance as a major stakeholder. Indeed, the majority of sales in the long-term savings and investments industry in the UK are realised through IFAs. Academic studies (Gough, 2005; Gough & Nurullah, 2009) have indicated that IFAs are the strongest distribution channel in the industry. Thus, by analysing the impact of the interconnectedness in this relationship, a strategy that can increase the relationship performance can be proposed. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, a study that investigates the effect of the interconnectedness in this triadic relationship has not been established. In addition, the regulatory environment which continues to face change such as the recent implementation of Retail Distribution Review (RDR) on 1st January 2013 will make the relationship more rather than less complex.

Heritage interpretation challenges and management issues at film-induced tourism heritage attractions: Case studies of Rosslyn Chapel and Alnwick Castle

Although previous research has widely acknowledged the phenomenon of film-induced tourism, there is a paucity of research in relation to management of film-induced tourism at built heritage sites. This research, underpinned by a constructivist paradigm, draws on three distinct fields of study – heritage tourism management, film-induced tourism and heritage interpretation – in order to provide a contribution to the heritage management field and address this particular gap in knowledge. Relying on the method of semi-structured interviews with managers, guides and visitors at Rosslyn Chapel (RC) and Alnwick Castle (AC), this thesis provides a rich understanding of how heritage interpretation can address a range of management challenges at heritage sites where film-induced tourism has occurred. These heritage visitor attractions (HVAs) were specifically selected as case studies as they have played different roles in media products. Rosslyn Chapel (RC) was an actual place named in The Da Vinci Code (TDVC) book and then film, whereas Alnwick Castle (AC) served as a backdrop for the first two Harry Potter (HP) films. Findings of this research include a range of management challenges at both RC and AC such as an increase in visitor numbers; seasonality issues; changes in visitor profile; revenue generation concerns; conservation, access, and visitor experience; and the complex relationship between heritage management and tourism activities. The findings also reveal film-induced tourism’s implications for heritage interpretation such as the various visitors’ expectations for heritage interpretation, changes to heritage interpretation as a result of film-induced tourism, and issues with commodification. These findings also demonstrate that film-induced tourism to some extent influenced visitors’ preferences for heritage interpretation, though visitors’ preferences differed from one to another. This thesis argues that, in the context of film-induced tourism at HVAs, as evident from the two case studies considered, heritage interpretation can be a valuable management tool and can also play a significant role in the quality of the visitors’ experience.