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The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theory concerning visitor motivations, consumer experience and behavioural intentions at rural events; more specifically, it focusses on agricultural shows, which have hitherto been neglected in the events management literature. These events have successfully broadened their visitor base, but not without the attendant challenges for agricultural events’ designers.

The research adopts a quantitative design using a questionnaire survey. The analysis, using a range of statistical procedures, centres on consumer motivation, experience and behaviour in relation to show features and their influence on future behaviour.

The findings of this paper demonstrates the relative importance to the consumer of the show’s various components and their influence on revisitation, which reflect the significance of social, cultural and personal meanings attached to their experiences. This highlights key motivational variables such as appreciating the shows’ traditions and intellectual enrichment.

The study takes a cross-sectional approach, using a non-probability sample at four multi-day royal shows. Future research should establish the external validity of the findings and their applicability to smaller one-day agricultural shows.

The research provides a managerial contribution by informing show designers about the motivations of an increasingly diverse range of visitors. This will facilitate decisions around the engagement of contemporary design while preserving the traditional elements of agricultural shows.

Few studies have looked at rural events and, in particular, agricultural shows. Moreover, previous research in this area has focussed on rural tourism and place making, while consumer behaviour and experience at rural events has been neglected. This paper provides an insight into the consumer experience and perceived importance of various aspects of contemporary agricultural shows.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate drinking patterns; attitudes towards alcohol consumption and alcohol‐related behaviours amongst differing groups of young adults. A further aim is to investigate whether the drinking behaviours of undergraduate populations can be considered to be representative of young adult behaviours in general.

Four groups of young adult alcohol consumers are identified. The participants in the first two groups are aged between 18 and 23, one group being undergraduates and the second non‐graduates in work. Participants in the second two groups are aged between 24 and 29, one group comprising graduates in work, the second non‐graduates in work. 120 questionnaires were completed; 30 in each sample group, with an even gender distribution. Follow up one‐to‐one interviews are carried out with representatives from each group.

Although a small study it is evident that whilst there are some similarities in behaviours between the differing sample groups significant differences in alcohol‐related behaviours dominate.

The results suggest that utilising the results of research carried out amongst student populations to inform government policies with regard to the behaviour of young adults in general is unlikely to be successful in changing drinking behaviours.

This paper produces new insights into current drinking cultures and attitudes towards drinking in differing groups of young adults. Specifically, it compares behavioural norms between graduate and non‐graduate populations challenging much current research which is based upon student samples as being representative of the young adult population as a whole.

In Scotland residential units for children remain largely in the hands of local authorities. A reluctance to plan for and use such services as a positive choice results in many children being placed as a last resort. Two research studies gathered data over a six‐month period and considered seven local authorities' admissions to children's units, allowing for in‐depth exploration of the manner in which children are being placed in residential care. The studies revealed a significant number of children aged under 12 being admitted to residential care, many placements of a very short duration, poor evidence of placement planning, substantial numbers of sibling groups being separated and admitted to different residential care settings and many instances of residential placements being used when not the preferred option. The implications of the findings are discussed and possible solutions offered as to how the residential sector can be developed to achieve the wide range of roles it is currently expected to fulfil.

The design and development of a computer‐aided learning tool for the education of patients with diabetes and for the training and support of practice nurses providing diabetes care have been previously reported. diabCAL is a broad and comprehensive learning tool, which can be accessed as a modular course or a desktop quick‐reference. Evaluation is central to the design process and can be formative, informing design and development throughout the lifecycle, or summative, assessing the value of the finished product. diabCAL was subject to rigorous evaluation at various stages during development, including: verification of curriculum content and structure, evaluation of navigation and evaluation of system content. A final hybrid formative‐summative evaluation assessed usability and acceptability of the system. Evaluations were conducted by technical experts and users, and findings of the final evaluation study, conducted by patients, confirmed that diabCAL was acceptable to most users – that is, interesting and perceived to be useful – even to those with little previous computer experience.

While many problems of behaviour that are manifested in the school have their origins elsewhere, the school can represent a key point of entry for professionals to develop preventive strategies. This article examines the influence of the school upon the prevention of offending by children and young people and explores the effective dynamics of anti‐bullying initiatives and ‘optimal social work’ in the school.

The purpose of this paper is to review marketing materials of surveillance products for people with dementia and their carers in three ageing countries, as part of a dementia-technology media analysis.

An online environmental scan was conducted using search terms for surveillance technologies (STs) and dementia through a Google search focussed on the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands. Data were extracted on the products’ and websites’ marketing messages from consumer and marketer perspectives.

Information was gathered for 382 product websites, of which 242 met eligibility criteria. The majority of products come from the UK. In the UK and Sweden, the companies behind the websites appeared to be mainly “cottage industries” which focus on selling ST. In contrast, sellers in the Netherlands included a more balanced mixture of small, medium and large companies. In all three countries, the website messaging focussed on the need to manage safety concerns, without considering privacy or consent.

Contrary to the perception of future dependence on technology, the ST sector seems to be a niche market. The media messages, equating people with dementia with animals and children, are at odds with initiatives that strive for dignity and dementia friendliness.

No previous study is known to have explored media messages from websites that market ST for people with dementia.

The curing of pork for the purpose of manufacturing bacon and ham is fundamentally a process of salting that was originally used merely as a method of preservation. A century and a half ago the curing of pork was done on the farm or in the home. To‐day, practically all the bacon and ham consumed is mass‐produced in factories, and the concern of manufacturers is to obtain the best standard products by the simplest means. The report that follows is not concerned with those factors in the quality of the product that can only be standardised by control of the conditions under which the pig is reared and of its treatment immediately before slaughter, such as the conformation and composition of the carcase. It is concerned only with those factors that are definitely due to the process of curing, namely, the cured flavour, the production of the red cured colour of the lean meat and the even distribution of salt. It is now well known that the production of the red colour is due to the interaction of a nitrite, such as potassium or sodium nitrite, with the haemoglobin of the meat, which yields a pigment, nitroso‐haemoglobin, which is more permanent than haemoglobin. On the other hand, it is known that such nitrites may have harmful effects upon animals, if taken indiscriminately into the alimentary system, so that the view generally held is that the amount of nitrite in staple foods should be as low as possible. In the traditional method of curing, nitrite is not added to the curing salt. Nitrate (saltpetre) is added. The fact that the red colour develops is due to the action of certain bacteria in reducing a portion of the added nitrate to nitrite. In this indirect method of introducing nitrite into the cure, the amount of nitrite in the product when it is finally consumed depends upon many variables, and cannot be easily or strictly controlled. The traditional procedure of adding nitrate is still the basis of commercial practice in this country ; in fact, the addition of nitrite is illegal. The traditional method of curing on the farm or in the home has, however, been modified in one very important way in the modern factory. Traditionally, dry salts were used. To‐day, the usual method employed in factories is salting by immersion in tanks of pickle, combined with the forcible injection into the carcase of a solution of common salt and saltpetre. Two advantages have been gained by this change ; first, a milder cure, containing a relatively small and fairly evenly distributed amount of salt, and, secondly, speed and economy. From the points of view both of the consumer and of the manufacturer, a number of questions emerge from this review of the present situation in this country. Thus, it may be asked : (1) Does nitrate contribute in any essential way, in addition to serving as a source of nitrite, to the process ? Does it, for example, contribute essentially to the cured flavour or to the keeping properties of the product ? (2) Similarly, do bacteria contribute in any essential way, in addition to acting as agents in the production of nitrite ? (3) How far are the temperature, time and acidity determined in tank‐curing by the need for controlling the type of bacterial flora and its activity ; and what advantages could the manufacturer obtain if the need for the bacteria and for the control of their activity did not exist ? (4) Would the elimination of the nitrate and the bacteria from the process help toward obtaining more uniform and lower amounts of nitrite in the finished product ? It has therefore been felt essential to carry out the experiments described in this report, although it may appear at first sight that they cover similar ground to that traversed as long ago as 1925 in the U.S.A. under the auspices of the Bureau of Animal Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture and of the Institute of American Meat Packers. There is, however, a basic difference in the aims of the two pieces of work. The American work, conducted on an extensive scale in a number of packing houses, was a successful demonstration that the direct use of sodium nitrite in American cures was commercially practicable, and had many operative advantages over the traditional method, which relied entirely for the production of nitrite on the bacterial reduction of nitrate. As regards the product, it was found to be at least equal in all respects to that produced by the older method. The work was not designed to elucidate the mechanism of curing, i.e., to isolate the factors responsible for the production of the cured flavour and, in fact, no steps were taken to eliminate the factor of bacterial action. The results did, however, show that the presence of nitrate, as such, was not essential for the flavour of American bacon and hams. The aim of the present work has been twofold : to determine the relative importance of the various factors responsible for the production of the cured flavour ; and to determine whether the direct use of nitrite in English cures, which are very different from those used in America, would give a satisfactory product, as judged by English standards. The first objective is not only of scientific interest, but is fundamentally related to the second. If a clearly defined factor can be shown to be responsible for the production of the cured flavour, any consequential modifications in English commercial practice that may suggest themselves can be viewed and developed on a scientific and not an empirical basis. The work therefore included a critical comparison between, first, current procedure in the factory, based on the traditional process of adding nitrate and depending on bacterial activity for the production of nitrite ; secondly, nearly sterile procedure in which both nitrate and nitrite were added in addition to sodium chloride ; and thirdly, nearly sterile procedure in which only nitrite was added. Other aspects of curing were also investigated, including the rate at which the freshly‐slaughtered pig is cooled, the action of heat on the nitrite in bacon, the minimal desirable amount of free nitrite in bacon, the bacterial flora of pork, bacon and mature tank‐pickle and the amounts of salt and nitrite in commercial bacon. The results of the experimental cures, as will be seen, establish a strong presumption that the characteristic flavour of bacon is due to the action of sodium chloride and nitrite on the flesh, and that the presence of nitrate and microbial action during pickling and maturation are not essential. The work also raises, but does not settle, other important issues. For example, what is the process by which nitrite is lost in the meat, other than by combination with haemoglobin, and what are the effects of temperature, time, acidity, etc., upon the rate and extent of this process ; does the presence of nitrate in the tissues appreciably retard or inhibit the growth of putrefactive anaerobes? These problems are now being investigated, but in the meantime it seems undesirable to defer publication of the results already obtained. What is the immediate practical upshot of the work ? The basic principles of the curing of bacon can be taken as fairly established, and they do point to the possibility of recasting current practice in this country in a way that would give the curer really effective control over the quality of his product, so far as it is determined by the actual process of curing. But it would be premature at this stage to attempt the radical changes in method that are implied. Before that could usefully be done it would be necessary to carry out a comprehensive series of experiments on a larger scale, and with an adequate range of raw material (i.e., carcases), in order to establish how far the results obtained on the small scale are reproducible in the factory. The question of this further work is under consideration.

The purpose of this paper is to report on untold stories that not only illustrate the creativity but also complexity of working in outdoor events. There has been global interest in the creative industries and the creative economy more generally. Events have not been identified or categorised as part of this. Experiences have been identified as part of the creative sectors (NESTA, 2006) and events are seen as experiences (Jackson, 2006; Berridge 2007). There has been little research undertaken about the creative nature of event experiences, especially in how they are created.

A theoretical framework was created from literature on creativity more generally to inform the Creativity in Events research project. Interviews with those working in the outdoor events sector were the basis of the qualitative stage of the research project investigating the phenomenon of creativity in events.

This paper identifies the core facets of creativity in the management of outdoor events. These were fluency, originality, imagination, elaboration, environment and complexity. A vignette is used to illustrate the intricacy of the nature of creativity in the production of outdoor event experiences. The overall findings were that event management was both creative and pragmatic and that both are necessary. There was a need for a creative environment with processes and familiarity that aided inspiration and originality.

The background and findings are relevant to recognising events as part of the wider creative economy. A greater understanding of the nature of creativity in events informs both education and practice.

This paper aims to examine participatory sport event organizers’ perspectives on potential connections between their events and tourism and destination marketing outcomes.

This qualitative study entailed in-depth interviews with participatory sport event organizers in the United Kingdom, coupled with thematic analysis of event websites and social media. The paper uses Chalip’s (2004) model for host community event leveraging to interpret findings.

Event organizers focused on attracting participants and delivering positive experiences, rather than on stimulating tourism-related outcomes. However, organizers used a range of strategies to attract participants, such as emphasizing attractive and unique location features, which could also serve to entice active sport tourists and promote the event host destination.

Participatory sport event organizers may not prioritize or even sufficiently understand the potential for their events to generate tourism outcomes. For organizers confronted with operating constraints and event delivery challenges, it may be difficult to find the time, and practical ways, to satisfy the needs of tourism stakeholders.

The unique contribution of this paper is its focus on supply-side perspectives on the role of participatory sport events as tourism catalysts, and its examination of the potential for such small-scale events to contribute to sustainable tourism development. This paper also considers the nature of event organizers’ role in implementation of Chalip’s (2004) model for host community event leveraging.