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Purpose – This chapter discusses health disparities among African Americans living in urban spaces within the United States.

Approach – This chapter provides an overview of health disparities in morbidity and mortality related to maternal and child health (maternal mortality rate, infant mortality, and low birth weight).

Practical implications – This chapter describes research and interventions that strive to increase our ability to understand and reduce health disparities. Eliminating health disparities not only is beneficial to these affected groups but also offers the opportunity to improve the health of the entire U.S. population.

Originality/value – This chapter adds to our understanding of the correlates of health disparities for African American women and children as well as successful interventions that have proven effective in ameliorating these disparities.

This editorial aims to situate the papers chosen for this special issue within academic literature and identify their contributions to new knowledge.

The editorial first discusses tourism research literature pertinent to the marketing of cultural and heritage tourism products at island destinations around the globe. Second, the contributions made to this field by the authors in this volume and their implications for theory, industry dynamics and tourism product as well as to island communities are identified.

Each paper contributes to the field, either by explorations of theory, shifts in paradigm or by revealing new knowledge.

Collectively this collection of papers offers new perspectives on the special characteristics of island tourism, community dynamics, the role of marketing and the development of sustainable cultural and heritage tourism products in island contexts.

This editorial aims to situate the papers chosen for this special issue within academic literature and identify their contributions to new knowledge.

The editorial first discusses tourism research literature pertinent to the idiosyncrasies of destination management in island contexts. Second, the paper identifies the contributions made to this field by the authors and the implications of their innovative research for island tourism and destination management.

Each paper contributes, in its way, to the field of island tourism, either by integration of explorations of theory, shifting paradigms or revealing new knowledge. This special issue contains two seminal papers by top academic leaders of the fields of islandness and HRM in island destinations. It also presents papers that comment on destination management issues at macro and micro levels.

Collectively this collection of papers offers new perspectives concerning the challenges of creating destination image in peripheral locations, the impacts of global mobilities (inward and outward) on destination labor markets, models for sustainable destination development, the welcome extended to visitors and returning locals by island communities, destination positioning strategies and service interactions.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an historical context of the growth of Celtic music on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada and to trace the development as a component of a cultural tourism product.

The paper examines literature on music and cultural tourism as well as government reports. Semi‐structured interviews were done with a cross‐section of people, key to the development of musical cultural tourism on Cape Breton Island.

The paper reports on the initial investments of the federal government of Canada in tourism infrastructure on Cape Breton Island in the 1970s and the initial investments in entertainment as a component of tourism in 1986. The paper examines the growth of Celtic music in Cape Breton and the birth of the success of the Cape Breton sound.

The practitioners of the music industry are quite clear in their views of the importance of their sector to the broader tourism industry. However, the study is quiet on the actual perceptions and views of the tourist. Further research should examine the importance of the cultural experience in contributing to the satisfaction of the visitors' experience.

The success of the Celtic Colors International Festival has clearly indicated the market for Cape Breton Celtic music and that festivals of this sort have the ability to extend the tourism season.

The paper chronicles the development of one of the most successful Atlantic Canadian cultural tourism products which has broad applications in comparable tourist destinations.

The purpose of this paper is to show the development of Appropriate Adult services in Scotland over the past nine years and considers how this differs from the rest of the UK.

New analysis of existing statistical information is provided to show pattern of demand, type of interview, nature of mental disorder involved and regional differences.

Growth in demand for services is identified for both suspect and witness interviews, with people with learning disabilities most frequently receiving support. There is significant variation in the pattern of referrals across Scotland.

The results reflect heightened awareness amongst police officers of the need for Appropriate Adults, but there should be examination of the different types of provision to promote equity of service.

This is the first time that these figures have been collated and subject to analysis. They provide comparative information within Scotland that is also of relevance to the rest of the UK.

Sustainable tourism demands a positivistic and holistic look at the true costs and benefits of the industry to host communities. To aid leaders in starting the process, the article proposes a tourism options navigation model looking at varying number of visitors, their average daily spend and leakages, on the socio‐economic, cultural and environmental landscape of island communities. The article aims to identify various tourism options, their expected effects and potential strategies to mitigating negative outcomes and to later apply the model to the case of the rural parish of St Thomas, Jamaica.

To achieve the objectives outlined a comprehensive review of related literature was conducted. The researcher interviewed six of Jamaica's national tourism leaders and analyzed their responses.

It was posited that by employing strategies that impact the number of visitors to the area, their average daily spend and industry‐related economic import leakages, leaders can control the economic, social, cultural and environmental effects of tourism on communities but the process must begin with a clear articulation of the desired effects.

The model could be a useful decision‐making tool for leaders considering tourism as a developmental option or in analyzing the current state of their communities' tourism industry. It could also form the basis for a more objective look at tourism success by researchers.

The model is unique as it provides a single comprehensive look at the causes and effects of tourism and possible ways forward.

This paper aims to conceptualize and illustrate how some island societies – in spite of their apparent openness, vibrant tourist economies and generally welcoming disposition – develop exclusionary attitudes to a range of immigrants, resulting in effective limits to their much vaunted hospitality culture.

In the context of a global review, the paper reports a qualitative study of immigrant experiences and perceptions from 2005 empirical survey data, as well as the personal observations of the author on Prince Edward Island, Canada's smallest and only fully island province.

While the bonding social capital of island communities tends to be strong, their bridging social capital tends to be weak. Other aspects of island life – including perceptions of smallness, affirmation of island identity, high population density, gentrification, the threat of invasion and the fear of the other – impact on the interaction of the “come heres” with the “from heres”. The paper shows divisions in islander attitudes between (short‐term stay) tourists and (longer‐term stay) immigrants in sharp relief.

This analysis queries research assumptions about service, hospitality and tourism and provides a conceptual framework for the dynamics of visitation to island destinations.

These findings critique service quality, relationship management and attitudes to potential clients.

The paper connects immigration research to attitudes to tourism, using an island studies lens as its analytical tool and provides an insightful view of the contested dynamics of place, notions of hospitality and exclusion.

The purpose of this study is to explore the organization‐stakeholder relationship between oil and gas operators and community members involved in the Sundre Petroleum Operators Group (SPOG) in Alberta, Canada. After a crisis of trust, the SPOG was established to increase transparency, and attempt to rebuild trust and healthy community stakeholder relationships.

This research paper is a result of interviews with both SPOG industry and community members (n=18). A qualitative phenomenological orientation was adopted because of its focus on the individual experience of the relationship. Key relational elements such as trust and transparency were examined in relation to the importance for relationship building. The research is limited by the number of interviews that were obtained during the time allotted for data collection.

The results indicated that after a crisis, transparency is crucial for rebuilding trust and maintaining healthy community stakeholder relationships. An interesting finding in the research was the apparent influence of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People on the development and maintenance of shared values within the relationship. Further research is recommended into the impact of Covey's leadership and management style and on organization‐stakeholder relationships.

Shell provides an excellent example of an organization that experienced a loss of trust with key stakeholders and used transparency to begin to rebuild important stakeholder relationships.

This paper aims to examine the integration of management and marketing practices at heritage sites in Ireland.

The research process involved: phase one, a survey of 224 heritage attractions in Ireland and phase two, semi‐structured interviews with the six organizations that represent the heritage sector on the island of Ireland.

The findings suggest that market research and marketing communication are vital in achieving a balance between targeting cultural tourists and tourists with no specific interest in heritage.

The study has the restriction of being limited to the Irish case. However, these findings provide scope for further investigation, namely extending to other destinations and to sites which use different techniques.

A combined commitment to visitor research by the individual heritage sites could provide information to the representative organizations to facilitate target marketing and improved onsite management. However, a change of mindset is required among heritage practitioners in Ireland regarding the use of marketing and the implications for onsite management. The authors propose that this is achievable through education linked to the study of models of best practice.

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings from a small qualitative study of victims of mass marketing fraud (MMF), exploring how they become involved in such activity and then sustain their involvement. The paper concludes with recommendations for practitioners involved in supporting vulnerable older people.

The paper considers a small qualitative case study into the vulnerability of older people (n=3) to MMF from the perspectives of the “victims” of such fraud.

This paper highlights a range of predisposing risk factors to MMF which emerged as key themes including the psycho-social background of the victim, emotional vulnerability, the need for meaningful activity and opportunities engagement in meaningful social activity.

The small scale of this research is a limitation, but as there is currently a dearth of research in this area it makes a valuable contribution to the developing knowledge base.

Professionals need to develop increased understanding of the complexities of sustained involvement in MMF, and the ways in which fraudsters manipulate potential victims by “grooming” and luring through plausible schemes which appear genuine to the victim.

MMF is a growing threat in the financial abuse of older people, and is increasingly recognized as a concern for professionals involved in supporting and safeguarding vulnerable older people.

Despite the growing awareness of MMF in the financial abuse of vulnerable older people, this paper is one of the first to consider the perspectives of victims of MMF.