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Parental advocacy is an emerging area of research and policy interest in Wales and across the UK. Although there is little research in the UK context to date, international research has indicated that parental advocacy can improve the relationship between parent and professional in the field of child protection social work. This paper aims to ascertain how the implementation of a parental advocacy programme supports parents to play a meaningful role in decision-making when children’s services are working with them and their families.

This study used interviews, surveys and focus groups to obtain qualitative data from 18 parents, seven parent advocates, two advocacy managers and four social workers, to explore the potential impact of parental advocacy on decision-making. The study identified challenges in implementing parental advocacy, particularly relating to awareness of the service. Participants also discussed experiences of the child protection system and how parents are supported by advocates.

Despite challenges surrounding implementation, initial findings were encouraging, and generated examples of how parental advocacy services have helped parents to understand children’s services and develop relationships of trust with social care professionals. In doing so, this study identified potential mechanisms that may be useful to support future service delivery.

This paper and research is novel as it explores parental advocacy within the Welsh context. Although there has been research conducted into parental advocacy, this has largely come from the USA. This research comes from the evaluation of an innovative and promising parental advocacy scheme in Wales.

Research on measures to strengthen the implementation of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) principles has been scarce in developing countries such as Nigeria. Hence, this study sought to identify and assess the crucial measures for encouraging the adoption of IEQ principles in the Nigerian construction industry, specifically from the viewpoint of quantity surveyors.

To accomplish this objective, a quantitative research methodology was employed, utilizing a well-structured questionnaire distributed to quantity surveying (QS) firms in Nigeria. The collected data were examined using a range of statistical techniques such as frequencies, percentages, mean item scores (MISs), the Kruskal–Wallis test and exploratory factor analysis.

The top five ranked measures were as follows: offer financial incentives and tax breaks, develop educational materials and resources, establish clear and accessible reporting mechanisms, develop awards and recognition programs and provide advocacy and awareness campaigns. Factor analysis led to the categorization of the identified measures into four primary clusters: education and training, policy and regulation, incentivization and recognition and collaboration and networking. Consequently, these clusters were renamed the EPIC (Education and training, Policy and regulation, Incentivization and recognition and Collaboration and networking) framework, with each first letter representing a significant measure for fostering the adoption of IEQ principles.

Consequently, this study offers a robust foundation for understanding and implementing measures to enhance the adoption of IEQ principles within the Nigerian construction industry, ultimately benefiting stakeholders and improving the quality of built environments.

The EPIC framework designed in this study offers valuable insights for policymakers, construction industry professionals and other stakeholders interested in promoting IEQ principles, which can potentially lead to healthier, more comfortable and more sustainable built environments in Nigeria and beyond.

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel qualitative activity focus group (AFG) method for studying consumption practices. This participatory method, which is inspired by practice-theoretical thinking, combines focus group discussions with activities that represent the practices at the centre of the research.

The application of the AFG method is demonstrated with an empirical study of the transition to plant-based food consumption practices in Finland, involving four group sessions of 13 participants.

The findings from the empirical application of the AFG method illustrate that its key strength is the ability to foster fruitful and natural discussions on routine consumption practices that connect with discursive and practical dimensions and thus generate multidimensional data in resource-efficient ways.

The AFG method extends the methodological approaches in practice theory–oriented research, responding to the call for creative, real-life-reflecting methods that are able to grasp the discursive and embodied dimensions of practices. The method is proposed to be particularly suitable for research on mundane consumption practices.