How self directed support is failing to deliver personal budgets and personalisation

Copyright © Social Services Research Group 2012. This article is available open access from the publisher’s website at the link below.Over the past five years, social care has been experiencing a period of change described as 'transformational'. It has largely been based on a model initiated by the organisation 'In Control' (Poll et al., 2006), variously called 'personalisation', 'personal budgets' and 'self directed support'. The drive to create personalised services through self directed support and personal budgets was implemented before the model was fully tested. Indeed, its implementation was announced before completion of a national evaluation set up by the Government. One advantage of such speedy, widespread implementation is that we are now beginning to have substantial evidence regarding its efficacy. At the same time, we are the on the cusp of new legislation likely to shape social care for the foreseeable future. It is essential that legislation takes on board what the evidence says about this model – its strengths and weaknesses. The following discussion shows why the underpinning notion of self directed support seems to have failed in its ambitions. However, the concepts of personalisation and personal budgets associated with it may retain value if interpreted in an appropriate way, delivered through an appropriate strategy. Then even so long as resources fall short of needs, they are likely to ensure the best possible outcomes for service users are secured. If and when adequate levels of funding are also provided, there may be the real prospect of enabling all to live their lives on the same terms as others who do not need social care support

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Leeds and the Northern Arts Prize

Purpose - This paper aims to look at the nature of the relationship between the marketing of the contemporary visual arts, cultural tourism and city and urban regeneration. This exploratory study of the marketing of the contemporary visual arts in Leeds has, as its background narrative, the emergence of BritArt. Design/methodology/approach - The growth of contemporary visual arts provides the context for a case study of the Northern Art Prize, which was first awarded in 2007. Findings - The study found a number of factors for success that can aid urban renewal and city regeneration. Private sector marketing expertise levered into the management of the project was one critical success factor. Another was that private sector funding freed up marketers and artists and allowed risk-taking. Participants highlighted a lack of vision for the contemporary visual arts in the city and region and a strong desire for new collaborative working and new governance structures for the delivery of arts marketing and cultural tourism. Originality/value - The Northern Art Prize offers much for the marketing of contemporary visual arts, cultural tourism, city branding and urban renewal. Investing in and marketing of the arts is argued to serve as a stimulus that can bring a range of benefits for the business and wider community. Marketing, especially arts marketing, can help deliver social, economic and urban regeneration

Value Creation or Destruction: The Role of Private label in UK Grocery Category Management Decisions

Category management is a collaborative approach between food manufacturers and retailers to manage product categories rather than individual brands. It operates at both strategic and operational levels and seeks to create value ultimately for the consumer. The paper contributes to the literature and practice. It uses a qualitative interview study of twenty five senior practitioners and explores the role of private label products within UK grocery categories as consumers continue to switch due to lower prices and comparable quality to the traditional brands. The research also examines how private label manufacturers can create value within the category management relationship and how they can aspire to category captainship if they generate retailer specific and differentiated category strategies. The paper accepts its limitations and explains how further research in this important field of retailing is necessary to update the literature and help practitioners navigate their way through turbulent sector change

Estrogenic activity of phenolic additives determined by an in vitro yeast bioassay

Copyright @ 2001 Environmental Health PerspectivesWe used a recombinant yeast estrogen assay to assess the activity of 73 phenolic additives that are used as sunscreens, preservatives, disinfectants, antioxidants, flavorings, or for perfumery. Thirty-two of these compounds displayed activity: 22 with potencies relative to 17 beta -estradiol, ranging from 1/3,000 to -estradiol. Forty-one compounds were inactive. The major criteria for activity appear to be the presence of an unhindered phenolic OH group in a para position and a molecular weight of 140-250 Da.This work was supported in part under contract with the U.K. Department of Trade and Industry as part of the Government Chemist Programme

Issues arising when interpreting results from an in vitro assay for estrogenic activity

Concern about possible adverse effects caused by the inadvertent exposure of humans and wildlife to endocrine-active chemicals, has led some countries to develop an in vivo–in vitro screening program for endocrine effects. In this paper, a previously described estrogen-inducible recombinant yeast strain (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is used to investigate a number of issues that could potentially lead to the mislabeling of chemicals as endocrine disruptors. The chemicals studied were: 17-estradiol, dihydrotestosterone, testosterone, estradiol-3-sulfate, 4-nonylphenol, 4-tert-octylphenol, 4-tert-butylphenol, bisphenol-A, methoxychlor, 2,2-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane, butyl benzyl phthalate, 4-hydroxytamoxifen, and ICI 182,780. Alterations in assay methodology (for example, incubation time, initial yeast cell number, and the use of different solvents) did not affect the potency of bisphenol-A and 4-nonylphenol relative to 17-estradiol, but did alter the apparent potency of butyl benzyl phthalate. Other issues (including the metabolic activation of methoxychlor, the chemical purity of a steroid metabolite and unusual chemical artifacts observed with alkylphenolic chemicals) which affect data interpretation are described. Many of the issues raised will also affect other in vitro assays for endocrine activity, and some will be relevant to the interpretation of data from in vivo assays. These examples illustrate that considerable care and thought must be applied when interpreting results derived from any single assay. Only by using a suite of assays will we minimize the chances of wrongly labeling chemicals as endocrine disruptors