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Picking up from Cotter et al.’s article on the transferential process, the purpose of this paper is to set out some arguments about the ways of meeting the emotional needs of people with learning disabilities.

The commentary draws on two studies: one is about understanding and changing disabling practices, and the other is about bereavement support for people with learning disabilities. Both use qualitative approaches, and in both studies, people with learning disabilities are active agents or co-researchers, who have assisted in shaping the ideas and values of the research.

Professional practices, including those within the therapeutic context, can act as institutional barriers which create people with learning disabilities as passive or incompetent. However, this paper sets out some preliminary findings showing that not only can people with learning disabilities support each other, but also that face-to-face support workers can support people with learning disabilities to understand and cope with their emotions.

Frontline support workers should be seen as professionals, with their own range of resources to provide good emotional support. Further, people with learning disabilities can come together in groups to develop peer support about difficult and sensitive topics.

Talking about therapies for people with learning disabilities has long been overlooked. As their value is now recognised, it is important that the views and wishes of people with learning disabilities themselves are heard, so that they can contribute to the processes which support them.

Young people with learning disabilities frequently experience mental health support needs, especially at the transition stages as they move into adulthood. The Count Us In inquiry (Carpenter, 2002) suggested that the prevalence rate for mental health needs in young people with learning disabilities may be as high as 40%, four times as high as for young people in general. This paper reports on an action research study in Somerset which was funded by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities. The study followed young people and practitioners in adopting a largely social model of mental health distress. It focused on positive emotional support, and worked with young people themselves to find new ways of tackling these issues. Young people in the study said that the support they most valued was that gained through friendships. A small, self‐selecting group of students worked with the project, and they designed and piloted a short course about emotional support for other young people. The findings show that this was effective in helping the young people talk more freely about their feelings, and build their confidence and mutual trust. This article argues that, by developing their own self‐determination, young people with learning disabilities can build their resilience to emotional problems and take more control over their own lives.

This paper seeks to provide a commentary on the previous paper in this issue, “Love is simply not enough”.

The commentary draws on research findings and recent policy about personalisation to consider those factors influencing the development of effective family and professional partnerships.

The paper notes the way in which families have often been undermined by those authorities responsible for providing support. While a lifelong caring role will be a positive choice for some families, it should not be a requirement.

The commentary draws attention, in particular, to the importance of local authorities working more effectively with family carers.

The aim of this paper is to present a critical analysis of the current issues about support planning within personal budgets (PBs) for disabled and older people.

The paper is based on data from a round of professional workshops in five local authorities, which represented the first stage of a research study about support planning. Focus group discussions were held with participants from voluntary sector organisations (VSOs), as well as social services participants, and the paper is based on a thematic analysis of those discussions.

While there was considerable agreement about the desired outcomes for personal budget users, and the ingredients of good support planning, some major concerns were voiced about current constraints. Budgetary cuts were felt to impinge negatively on support planning, and conflicts were identified for social services between the facilitation of PB users’ choices, and the need to keep budgets limited. Support planning was often being re‐colonised by social services, and VSOs felt that their own role was being curtailed. Some suggestions were made about equalising the power relationships between social services, VSOs and PB users themselves.

These workshops represent five local authority areas which volunteered to take part in research, building on existing good practices in support for PB users. The obstacles they identified are likely to be very general ones, and need to be addressed by strategic solutions at national and local level.

Prior to the launch of Valuing People (DH, 2001), Gordon Grant and Paul Ramcharan were appointed by the Department of Health as co‐ordinators of the Learning Disability Research Initiative (LDRI). The LDRI was a £2m research initiative, funded through the Department of Health's Policy Research Programme, linked to the implementation of Valuing People. The LDRI was brought to a conclusion in November 2007 with a final conference at which an overview report and accessible summary of the findings were launched (Grant & Ramcharan, 2007a, 2007b). In this paper we summarise the main findings of the LDRI with reference to Valuing People's main principles of rights, choice, inclusion and independence. In conclusion we consider how to build on the evidence base.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the personal values of consumers of ethical cosmetics in Brazil, using the resulting personality types to segment consumers for the development of strategies by Brazilian retailers and international players.

This study administered the psychometric Values and Lifestyles Scale (VALS) via an online survey with 302 consumers of ethical cosmetics. First, exploratory factorial analysis was employed to identify the behavior of VALS' factors within the sample. Second, cluster analysis was performed using hierarchical clustering technique in order to link demographic variables and VALS' types to form specific consumer profiles.

The study found eight VALS types in the sample respondents but with a different configuration than the original factors. They were named, respectively, “Avant-garde”, “Oriented to fashion”, “Artisans”, “Committed to morality and religion”, “Leader of a group”, “Theoretical”, “Ingenious” and “Conservative”. Results indicated a demographically homogeneous sample with personality profiles mostly placed among VALS' original factors “Experiencer”, “Thinker” and “Innovator”.

Results may vary within other cultural contexts and different means of investigation suggesting future research opportunities.

Ethical demands concerning health and environmental preservation are no longer neglectable. The study of consumers' personal values can contribute to formulate suitable retail strategies for expected demands of consumers in the ethical cosmetics segment.

These findings are expected to provide resources for decision-makers, academics, practitioners and marketers concerning several points of sensitivity in their relationship with ethical consumers.

The purpose of this paper is to provide psychographic and demographic profiles of people interested in culinary tourism.

The study was conducted in the First Lubbock Wine Festival in Texas, incorporating Values and Lifestyles (VALS‐2). A questionnaire was designed to investigate the classification of culinary tourists' lifestyles and values in terms of three primary motivations such as ideals, achievement, and self‐expression including culinary tourists' activities and demographic characteristics. Factor and reliability analyses were used.

A five‐factor solution resulted in idealist, achiever, explorer, belonger and innovator. Ideals‐motivated groups were identified by idealist and belonger. Self‐expression‐motivated groups were identified by explorer and innovator. Achievement‐motivated group was identified by achiever.

The study offers new insights and conceptualizations relevant to the analysis of culinary tourism markets, focusing on the needs and psychology of culinary tourists.

A better understanding of the needs and wants of culinary tourists may help tourism marketers increase the effectiveness of their promotional campaigns by targeting the appropriate audience and tailoring their messages to its psychological needs.

By providing a basis for predicting attitudes and behaviors of culinary tourists, this study extends the existing body of research by segmenting culinary tourists based on motivations while making travel decisions.