Using grounded theory to model visitor experiences at heritage sites: methodological and practical issues

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present grounded theory as an alternative approach for conceptualizing and modelling the consumer experience. The basic theoretical tenets of the grounded theory approach are contrasted with more traditional assumptions and methods used in consumer research. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is based on qualitative methods and a series of systematic ethnographic procedures, which along with the simultaneous processes of data collection and analysis, lead to the development of an inductive derived grounded theory of the visitor experience. In order to develop a model of the interactive experience of visitors to heritage sites, case studies are conducted at three World Heritage Sites in Thailand. Findings – The findings indicate that the grounded theory approach has the potential to reveal a rich and deep understanding of visitor experiences, including the ways that visitors interact with the site, their interpretation of the site, and the meaning of the site for them. Practical implications – It is suggested that the grounded theory approach can be a valuable tool in exploring the insights and meanings of visitors' experience and could be applied to future research in consumer behaviour. There are practical implications of this kind of research for the management of heritage sites in terms of visitor expectations, interactions and interpretations. Originality/value – This study has developed a model of the experience and interaction of visitors to Thai World Heritage Sites which could be applied to other heritage sites. It illustrates the theoretical and practical issues of grounded theory approach to exploration and inductive development “interactive experience” of visitors at heritage sites. This is a qualitative research approach that could be adopted for a range of experience based industries such tourism, leisure and hospitality

Using grounded theory approach: theoretical and practical issues in modelling heritage visitor experience

Purpose ? The purpose of this paper is to present grounded theory as an alternative approach for conceptualizing and modelling the consumer experience. The basic theoretical tenets of the grounded theory approach are contrasted with more traditional assumptions and methods used in consumer research. Design/methodology/approach ? The approach is based on qualitative methods and a series of systematic ethnographic procedures, which along with the simultaneous processes of data collection and analysis, lead to the development of an inductive derived grounded theory of the visitor experience. In order to develop a model of the interactive experience of visitors to heritage sites, case studies are conducted at three World Heritage Sites in Thailand. Findings ? The findings indicate that the grounded theory approach has the potential to reveal a rich and deep understanding of visitor experiences, including the ways that visitors interact with the site, their interpretation of the site, and the meaning of the site for them. Practical implications ? It is suggested that the grounded theory approach can be a valuable tool in exploring the insights and meanings of visitors' experience and could be applied to future research in consumer behaviour. There are practical implications of this kind of research for the management of heritage sites in terms of visitor expectations, interactions and interpretations. Originality/value ? This study has developed a model of the experience and interaction of visitors to Thai World Heritage Sites which could be applied to other heritage sites. It illustrates the theoretical and practical issues of grounded theory approach to exploration and inductive development ?interactive experience? of visitors at heritage sites. This is a qualitative research approach that could be adopted for a range of experience based industries such tourism, leisure and hospitality

Approved Mental Health Professionals and Mental Health Act Assessments: A Study of Power, Structures, Communication and (Shared?) Decision-Making

Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs) undertake Mental Health Act (MHA) assessments and have overall responsibility for deciding to detain, or indeed to not detain, an individual in hospital without their consent. They are required by law to act autonomously and make independent decisions, free from the influence of others, whilst working in complex and changing systems. Outcomes of MHA assessments are understood to be inconsistent, variable and influenced by many factors and, further, the MHA is known to disproportionately affect some groups or to indirectly discriminate (DoH, 2015b; DHSC, 2018). Within psychiatry, any focus on power has generally been on the overt, structural or ‘macro’ aspects of control and coercion rather than the more subtle forms of manipulation at the ‘micro’, individual level of negotiated decisions. Yet AMHPs are required to embed the statutory guiding principle of ‘Empowerment and Involvement’ (DoH, 2015a) into their practice whereby service users should be ‘fully involved in decisions about care, support and treatment’ (para.1.8) and little is known about this in practice. The forthcoming reforms to the MHA are understood to have the new set of guiding principles on the face of the MHA (not just within guidance) and the new ‘Choice and Autonomy’ principle speaks of a ‘move to mandatory recording of shared decision-making’ in order to improve outcomes, acknowledging that culture change is required to ensure that it becomes routine practice (DHSC, 2018 p.36). Yet if MHA assessments are to be a place for shared decision-making (SDM), more needs to be understood about effective techniques and aspects of communication and involvement. This, along with the many variables influencing AMHPs’ practice and decision-making has, to date, attracted very little research. This study was conducted with AMHPs and service users from one Local Authority area in England. A qualitative methodology was employed, within a social constructionist paradigm, to gather in-depth information about AMHPs’ experiences and perspectives and to consider the impact of the surrounding imperatives on their practice in general, and on their decision-making more specifically. An ethnographical study was undertaken within an AMHP service where a variety of different AMHP team structures provided an opportunity to consider their respective influences on practice. This was followed by observations and audio-recording of MHA assessments. Conversation Analysis was used to analyse aspects of the content and style of communication within interactions, with particular regard to power relations and the extent to which Empowerment and Involvement and SDM is (or is not) enabled in MHA assessments. AMHPs and people with lived experience were interviewed and a thematic analysis of the data was undertaken. As the study was adversely impacted by the global COVID pandemic, the research was augmented with a reinterrogation and thematic analysis of findings from a national research project with similar research questions, led by myself, focusing on people with lived experience of MHA assessment and detention (a further under-researched area). The study addresses both a research gap and a gap between policy aspirations and current practice. Findings offer a refined understanding of the influences on AMHP practice and decision-making and specific ways to enhance involvement with people with lived experience to improve subjective outcomes. This study is original in its combination of qualitative methods using Conversation Analysis to study the in-situ dynamics of the MHA assessment process. Different AMHPs both perceive and apply their power and authority in different ways and perceive the empowerment and involvement aspects of the role to be enacted in different ways, leading to an inconsistency in both objective and subjective outcomes

Designer delectables; exploring the design practice of haute couture and haute cuisine

This study explores design practice across two domains: haute couture (fashion), and haute cuisine (food). A case study approach was taken using the voice of practitioners as the focus through in-depth qualitative interviews. The cross-domain approach revealed similarities in design practice through four design themes: visualization, ‘conversations’ with materials, co-creation and ‘pushing boundaries’. The data also revealed innovations within the four themes that could apply to other design domains, for example visualization (haute couture) and co-creation (haute cuisine). The practitioners also provided valuable and nuanced insights into their design practice – ‘You have to live something to do it’. These insights from practitioners and their practice reveal how the two domains hold similarities in design practice and provide a deeper understanding of design processes, and designerly thinking, from which creativity and innovation can emerge

From Service to Experience: Understanding and Defining the Hospitality Business

Failure adequately to define or understand hospitality as a commercial phenomenon has created a fragmented academic environment and a schizophrenia in the industry that has the potential to limit its development as a global industry. This article suggests that, by redefining hospitality as behaviour and experience, a new perspective emerges that has exciting implications for the management of hospitality businesses. A framework to describe hospitality in the commercial domain is proposed. This framework suggests a focus on the host–guest relationship, generosity, theatre and performance, ‘lots of little surprises’, and the security of strangers – a focus that provides guests with experiences that are personal, memorable and add value to their lives

Approved Mental Health Professionals, Best Interests Assessors and People with Lived Experience - An Exploration of Professional Identities and Practice, A report prepared for Social Work England

Social Work England was established under The Children and Social Work Act 2017. It is the specialist regulator for social workers in England. Social Work England officially took over from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in December 2019. It is a non-departmental public body, operating at arm’s length from the government. Social Work England has become the professional regulator for Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs) and Best Interests Assessors (BIAs). In 2020 -21, Social Work England has been developing the regulatory framework to support AMHPs and the new specialism of Approved Mental Capacity Professional (AMCP), which will succeed BIAs from April 2022. This includes the development of education & training approval standards as well as specialist standards for AMHP and AMCP practice. Social Work England commissioned this piece of work as part of a commitment to learning about the professionals in these specialisms and people’s experiences of them. The objective of this research was to undertake a study into the experiences of AMHPs and BIAs and those who have experience of their interventions. Existing research is generally inconclusive and little is known about this area

Approved Mental Health Professionals, Best Interests Assessors and People with Lived Experience: An Exploration of Professional Identities and Practice

Social Work England was established under The Children and Social Work Act 2017. It is the specialist regulator for social workers in England. Social Work England officially took over from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in December 2019. It is a non-departmental public body, operating at arm’s length from the government. Social Work England has become the professional regulator for Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs) and Best Interests Assessors (BIAs). In 2020 -21, Social Work England has been developing the regulatory framework to support AMHPs and the new specialism of Approved Mental Capacity Professional (AMCP), which will succeed BIAs from April 2022. This includes the development of education & training approval standards as well as specialist standards for AMHP and AMCP practice. Social Work England commissioned this piece of work as part of a commitment to learning about the professionals in these specialisms and people’s experiences of them. The objective of this research was to undertake a study into the experiences of AMHPs and BIAs and those who have experience of their interventions. Existing research is generally inconclusive and little is known about this area

Hospitality Spaces, Hospitable Moments: Consumer Encounters and Affective Experiences in Commercial Settings

This paper examines the production of hospitable experiences within consumer encounters in commercial hospitality spaces. It considers the different dimensions or forms of hospitality and distinguishes between the offer of food, drink, shelter and entertainment within commercial transactions, the offer of hospitality as a means of achieving social or political goals, and meta-hospitality – temporary states of being that are different from the rational manifestations of hospitality. It is argued that meta-hospitality is tied to communitesque moments – short-lived emotional bonds that may be built or experienced through hospitality transactions. A case study is used to identify three factors that shape the development of communitesque experiences – the ecology in which it occurs, the participants' roles and their capabilities

Infectious Causation of Abnormal Host Behavior: Toxoplasma gondii and Its Potential Association With Dopey Fox Syndrome

The apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, can infect all warm-blooded animals. T. gondii can subtly alter host behaviors—either through manipulation to enhance transmission to the feline definitive host or as a side-effect, or “constraint,” of infection. In humans, T. gondii infection, either alone or in association with other co-infecting neurotropic agents, has been reliably associated with both subtle behavioral changes and, in some cases, severe neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. Research on the potential impact of T. gondii on the behavior of other long-lived naturally infected hosts is lacking. Recent studies reported a large number of wild red foxes exhibiting a range of aberrant behavioral traits, subsequently classified as Dopey Fox Syndrome (DFS). Here we assessed the potential association between T. gondii and/or other neurotropic agents with DFS. Live, captive foxes within welfare centers were serologically tested for T. gondii and, if they died naturally, PCR-tested for vulpine circovirus (FoxCV). Post-mortem pseudo-control wild foxes, obtained from pest management companies, were PCR-tested for T. gondii, FoxCV, canine distemper virus (CDV), canine adenovirus type (CAV)-1 and CAV-2. We also assessed, using non-invasive assays, whether T. gondii–infected foxes showed subtle behavioral alterations as observed among infected rodent (and other) hosts, including altered activity, risk, and stress levels. All foxes tested negative for CAV, CDV, CHV, and DogCV. DFS was found to be associated with singular T. gondii infection (captives vs. pseudo-controls, 33.3% (3/9) vs. 6.8% (5/74)) and singular FoxCV infection (66.7% (6/9) vs. 11.1% (1/9)) and with T. gondii/FoxCV co-infection (33.3% (3/9) vs. 11.1% (1/9)). Overall, a higher proportion of captive foxes had signs of neuroinflammation compared to pseudo-controls (66.7% (4/6) vs. 11.1% (1/9)). Consistent with behavioral changes seen in infected rodents, T. gondii–infected foxes displayed increased attraction toward feline odor (n=6 foxes). These preliminary results suggest that wild foxes with DFS are infected with T. gondii and likely co-infected with FoxCV and/or another co-infecting neurotropic agent. Our findings using this novel system have important implications for our understanding of both the impact of parasites on mammalian host behavior in general and, potentially, of the infectious causation of certain neuropsychiatric disorders