The current policy trend is to encourage greater choice in the use of welfare services. To make informed choices, people need information. The process of finding and using information has costs for individuals in terms of effort, time and material resources. These costs are different for different people and impact on their use of information in different ways. Thus, the accessibility of information is important in ensuring those people who need to make choices can do so in an informed way. This paper discusses the importance of information in making informed choices about social support by drawing on the findings of a scoping review of government research and development activity on the accessibility of information about adult social care services. The scoping review was carried out in spring 2006. Details of recent, current and planned projects were obtained through discussions with staff in government departments, government agencies and other related organisations identified using a snowballing technique. Forty-two contacts were made. Eleven research and 36 development projects were identified that aimed to investigate or improve the accessibility of information about social care services. A limited literature search was undertaken on information needs in areas not already under investigation by government. Eighteen articles were identified. Information and helpline staff from six voluntary organisations gave their views on the accessibility of information about social care services. Our findings show that there is no government-related or other recent research evidence on the specific information access needs for some user groups and services, for example, people from ethnic minority groups. For other user groups, such as people with chaotic lifestyles, there is evidence on information needs but no current or planned development projects to address these needs. The implications for the costs of finding and processing information to aid informed choices are discussed.

Deaf children require services which are expert in deafness and mental health, and the findings suggest the specialist services are achieving this. Resolving issues of access and widening its remit are desirable ways forward in any future development of the service.

Psychoeducational approaches to managing behavioural sleep problems in children with neurodisabilities are directed at the parent, increasing their knowledge and understanding of sleep and requiring them to change the way they manage sleep disturbance. Given parental engagement with and adherence to an intervention are critical to its success, it is important we understand parents' experiences of participating in interventions of this nature. It is surprising therefore that, to date, research in this area is extremely limited. This paper reports the findings from a qualitative study of 35 parents who had received a psychoeducational sleep management intervention delivered through one of the following modes: a half-day workshop (n=8); a four session group-delivered intervention (n=15); one-to-one work with a specialist sleep practitioner (n=12). The study was part of a larger programme of work evaluating sleep management interventions for children with developmental disorders and/or autistic spectrum conditions. Purposeful sampling was used to represent: intervention outcome, child's diagnosis, parents' education, and partner involvement in the intervention. Focus groups and individual interviews were used to gather data. The data were subject to a thematic analysis in relation to: a) parents' descriptions of the processes by which a sleep management intervention (SMI) leads to improvements in their child's sleep; b) parents' views of the factors which hinder the achievement of positive intervention outcomes; and c) parents' views on intervention intensity and mode of delivery. The implications of the findings in terms the design, content and delivery of such interventions are discussed.

There is a pressing need for research into the successful application of technology within organisations, given the high incidence of failure, with respect to information systems projects, in general, and e-commerce applications, in particular. A case study was conducted into system development approaches at Egg, one of the UK's leading online banks. Presents a qualitative study in this important area of research which should be of interest both to information systems researchers and to all IT professionals with responsibility for, or involvement in, e-business development projects. The key finding of the research is that, while the balance between IT and business input does change over the course of a project, its successful outcome is highly dependent on the evolution of a strong IT-business relationship that endures for the duration of the project. Shows that the maintenance of this strong relationship is undoubtedly aided by having shared and high priority activities, such as benefits realisation, that also last for the duration of the project.