A B S T R A C T The article draws on two separate studies employing developmental vignettes (hypothetical scenarios which unfold through a series of stages) to interview research participants. One study used the 'Davie' vignette, which was a conventional fixed narrative, while in the second, the 'Jack and Jenny' vignettes were made interactive by hyperlinking a series of PowerPoint scenarios and making the choice of the succeeding slide dependent on the interviewee's reaction to its predecessor. Our analytic standpoint, in respect of both vignettes, is that of Schutzian phenomenology. We point to differences in both topical and motivational relevances in the processes of interpretation undergone by participants in considering the vignette scenario and in the situation of action. However, we show that research participants' responses to vignettes can yield data of interest in their own right as participants perform 'Thou-orientations' and 'They-orientations' in their consideration of the stimuli. We close with a comparative evaluation of the fixed 'Davie' and the interactive 'Jack and Jenny' vignettes. K E Y W O R D S : ethnomethodology, longitudinal interviewing, phenomenology, substance misuse, vignettes What are vignettes? As a sociological research tool, vignettes have been defined as:A technique used in structured and depth interviews as well as focus groups, providing sketches of fictional (or fictionalized) scenarios. The respondent is then invited to imagine, drawing on his or her own experience, how the central character A R T I C L E

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English Tackling health inequalities is a policy priority for the Labour government in the UK. We use Kingdon’s model of ‘policy streams’ to explain how the issue of health inequalities gets onto the policy agenda nationally and locally, and how it is being implemented. Using empirical evidence from local agencies, we suggest that the issue of health inequalities is on the agenda nationally and locally but implementation is hampered by deficiencies in performance management, insufficient integration between policy sectors, and contradictions between health inequalities and other policy imperatives. Thus, the government’s expectations are not only dashed locally, but also local expectations are being dashed at the centre.

Self-reported measures of height and weight may be used in studies of the elderly although systematic reporting errors may bias effect estimates. As overweight individuals tend to under-report and the short and underweight tend to over-report, studies investigating associations of disease with height and weight using self-reported measures will underestimate effects. The weak associations between childhood and adult BMI indicate that associations between childhood adiposity and adult cardiovascular disease found in this cohort may reflect the specific effect of childhood overweight, rather than its persistence into adulthood. This suggests that avoidance of adiposity may be as important in childhood as in adulthood.