Purpose -This paper seeks to explore the applicability and implications of Bourdieu's field-capital theory for marketing using original research with a typical European society. Bourdieu's field-capital theory proposes that people acquire economic, social and cultural capital which they deploy in social arenas known as "fields" in order to compete for positions of distinction and status. This exploratory study aims to examine how Bourdieu's theory may explain competitive behavior in fields of interest to marketers. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 61 in-depth interviews were completed with respondents that were representative of each of 61 geodemographic "types" -clusters that enable marketers to segment an entire population. Findings -The findings suggest that examining human behaviour through the lens of field and capital theory highlights the importance of the competition motive in explaining consumers' behaviour. New "fields" were identified which seem to have assumed primary importance, particularly in middle-class people's lives.Research limitations/implications -Viewing consumer behaviour as social competition implies that new segmentation approaches may yield successful marketing outcomes, and opens consumer psychology and behaviour itself to new interpretations. Originality/value -Very few research papers that apply field-capital theory to marketing are present in the literature. It is hoped that this work addresses an important area, and one that is particularly prevalent in twenty-first century consumerism.
PurposeThis purpose of this paper is to report on a study of the possible role of social marketing in encouraging breastfeeding amongst teenage mothers. UK teenage mothers are particularly prone to low levels of breastfeeding and there has been a lack of response to traditional health education approaches. The purpose of this paper is to report on an in‐depth, qualitative exploration into the use of social marketing to address this problem.Design/methodology/approachQualitative interviews were conducted in 2009 with 58 pregnant teenagers, young mothers and their influencers to explore feeding decisions and examine social marketing options. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) emerged as the most appropriate framework to explain the major influences on breastfeeding. This was used to structure a solution that highlighted three strategic priorities for social marketing based on the TPB's three components: changing attitudes, altering social norms and increasing confidence.FindingsHealth benefits of breastfeeding were not disputed, but neither were they found to be a strong motivator for this age group. Personal benefits oriented to the mother were explored, some of which seem more promising in maintaining breastfeeding and the quality of ante‐ and postnatal service was critical. Finally, the “public” image of breastfeeding was often a negative, with the perceived lack of social acceptance of breastfeeding in public places acting as a barrier to continued practice.Originality/valueThis paper offers insights into the experiences of this group of young mothers and the findings were shared with the health trust funding the research, to help in a clinical pathway redesign. A separate social marketing‐based solution to counter this is proposed, with the long‐term aim to make breastfeeding the default societal norm.
The majority of British workers are non‐unionised. They face grievances at work alone. For the low paid among them, the main source of advice and support is the voluntary sector, in particular the Citizens Advice Bureaux and Law Centres. This article presents findings from a survey of front‐line employment advisers in Citizens Advice Bureaux and Law Centres that show how under‐funding by government at a time of rising demand from workers has affected the service they are able to provide and the quality of their own working life.
This article analyses the design of an online mentoring platform—for women by women—in a high‐technology, male‐dominated UK industry: aviation and aerospace. Based on interviews with professionals and managers, we analyse the journey of the women involved and contribute to the understanding of the role of women (individually and collectively) in challenging gendered norms in a male‐dominated industry through the theoretical lenses of ‘critical actors’ and ‘critical mass’. We combine these concepts, usually seen as mutually exclusive, to explain the success of the online platform. We show how a small number of self‐selected critical actors represented, listened and responded to the needs of the women in their industry, thus achieving the substantive representation of women. We also argue that while critical actors were key to its inception, the mentoring platform now needs a critical mass of women to ensure its success.
Background Funding shortages and an ageing population have increased pressures on state or insurance funded end of life care for older people. Across the world, policy debate has arisen about the potential role volunteers can play, working alongside health and social care professionals in the community to support and care for the ageing and dying. Aims The authors examined self-reported levels of care for the elderly by the public in England, and public opinions of community volunteering concepts to care for the elderly at the end of life. In particular, claimed willingness to help and to be helped by local people was surveyed. Methods A sample of 3,590 adults in England aged 45 or more from an online access panel responded to a questionnaire in late 2017. The survey data was weighted to be representative of the population within this age band. Key literature and formative qualitative research informed the design of the survey questionnaire, which was further refined after piloting. Results Preferences for different models of community volunteering were elicited. There was a preference for ‘formal’ models with increased wariness of ‘informal’ features. Whilst 32% of adults said they ‘might join’ depending on whom the group helped, unsurprisingly more personal and demanding types of help significantly reduced the claimed willingness to help. Finally, willingness to help (or be helped) by local community carers or volunteers was regarded as less attractive than care being provided by personal family, close friends or indeed health and care professionals. Conclusion Findings suggest that if community volunteering to care for elderly people at the end of life in England is to expand it may require considerable attention to the model including training for volunteers and protections for patients and volunteers as well as public education and promotion. Currently, in England, there is a clear preference for non-medical care to be delivered by close family or social care professionals, with volunteer community care regarded only as a back-up option.
Fiona Spotswood is Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of the West of England, Bristol. She has been a committed researcher and commentator in behaviour change throughout her career, and has conducted ethnographic and mixed method work around children's materialism, childhood physical activity, passive smoking, alcohol cultures and active travel, particularly cycling. Her position as a commentator on behaviour change has been firmly established through the ESRC-funded seminar series she leads around interdisciplinary behaviour change and her edited volume 'Beyond Behaviour Change: Key Issues, Interdisciplinary Approaches and Future Directions', published in March 2016.Stella Warren is a Research Associate at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Over the past 20 years, she has worked with academic colleagues on a number of projects that have addressed topics including: understanding psychological pathways for behaviour change; developing co-created social marketing initiatives to raise awareness of and encourage healthy behaviours; gendered research in 2 both the public, private and not-for-profit sectors; social enterprise in community health and integrated health and social care initiatives; and is a founding member of alta, a mentoring scheme to support professional women in aviation and aerospace.The development of a framework for effective interdisciplinary behaviour change project management Abstract Purpose: Interdisciplinary interventions for behaviour change are increasingly being considered a standard to aim for to maximise the potential for effective change of behaviours which have complex, multi-layered and interrelated causes. Despite considerable emphasis on interdisciplinarity in the behaviour change guidance (NICE, 2007;House of Lords, 2011), there is little research into the lived experience of managers attempting interdisciplinarity in day to day intervention management. This study sought to explore these experiences, with the aim of identifying a useful best practice framework for interdisciplinary intervention management. Methodology:Fourteen experts with extensive experience of managing or participating in interdisciplinary behaviour change projects were recruited for this project. They were recruited in pairs; each pair having worked on the same project but having come from a different background or discipline.The panel included academics as well as third, private and public sector practitioners. A range of behaviour change fields were included. Depth interviews were conducted to explore experiences of behaviour change projects and a draft 'best practice' framework was development from a thematic analysis of the findings. Through a series of iterations, the draft framework was amended, crosschecked and a subsequent consensus reached by the panel, from which the final version was developed.3 Findings: The result of this research project is an evidenced based framework for best practice in interdisciplinary behaviour change project management. The framework includes eight...
Parental engagement is widely acknowledged to have a positive impact on children's achievement, and interventions to increase parental engagement have had some success in improving educational outcomes for children in mainstream settings. However, there has been little research on parental engagement in special schools, despite some studies indicating that the challenges of parenting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can negatively impact parental engagement. Understanding and supporting parental engagement in this context is therefore an important area for research and intervention, to provide the same opportunities for enhancing outcomes for children with SEND. This paper reports on research with two special schools, using theories of practice to understand parental engagement. A practice theory framing diverts from an individualist or responsibilising conceptualisation of parental engagement and instead takes practices and practice architectures as the unit of enquiry, and by implication as sites of intervention. Based on data from focus groups with 129 school staff and depth interviews with 26 parents, our analysis illustrates the opportunities and challenges for special schools in fostering a practice architecture supportive of parental engagement, and highlights the importance of effective mechanisms for interaction between actors, in order to connect the practices performed at home, with practices performed at school. This offers a wide range of practices and connections between them as potential sites of intervention for special schools seeking to support parental engagement and drive beneficial outcomes for children.
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