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The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the claims made for the clinical microsystems approach of healthcare improvement within an English NHS context.

The research adopted a Realistic Evaluation approach to examine a series of pilot clinical microsystems sites to determine what worked for whom, when and within what circumstances. Interviews and group discussions were used to collect qualitative data, whist quantitative outcome data was also collected within each of the sites. Data was triangulated to produce case studies for each of the sites.

The research concurred with many of the claims for clinical microsystems, particularly that democratic, consensual approaches to change and improvement can be better received than externally derived initiatives with imposed targets. The clinical microsystem approach emphasises identifying and nurturing strengths – of both teams and individuals – and this reinforced these positive aspects. The case study sites demonstrated higher staff morale, empowerment, commitment and clarity of purpose. To a lesser extent the research also indicated an enhanced predisposition towards improvement and innovation and a seemingly embedded sense of improvement as an ongoing (if essentially episodic) process.

The evaluation was limited in terms of the numbers of case study sites that it was able to incorporate. This sample represented sites of different sizes, coverage of primary, secondary and tertiary care and those reporting more and less positive experiences of the clinical microsystems approach – but any findings may be limited in their generaliseability and further studies may be needed to test out the relevance of these findings in wider settings.

Future microsystem programmes will need to address components of patient involvement and process/outcome monitoring if the broader legitimacy of the approach is to be cemented and enhanced. In particular, the importance of strong data collection in achieving “high performing” status is emphasised.

There is currently no other empirical studies within the academic literature which investigate the value of the clinical microsystems approach to an English NHS context.

IN The verdict of you all, Rupert Croft‐Cooke has some uncomplimentary things to say about novel readers as a class, which is at least an unusual look at his public by a practitioner whose income for many years was provided by those he denigrates.

This paper aims to assess the current state, and various methods, of public and patient involvement, particularly but not exclusively in research on ageing and dementia.

Interviews were carried out with a researcher, who has had a leading role in research on dementia; a public contributor with extensive relevant experience; and a member of the research design service with responsibility for patient and public involvement.

All those involved in the research can benefit considerably from public and patient involvement and it can make a significant difference to the course of a project. The importance of choosing an appropriate method of involvement is discussed and planning for it in both financial terms and time allowed. Examples are given of successful studies.

Those who took part in the interviews were chosen for their record in furthering public and patient involvement in research. There is no attempt to compare their views with those of the wider research community.

The various ways in which patients and the public are involved in relevant research is a guide to those designing projects and those who may want to explore opportunities for involvement.

Social implications include being able to influence research projects, contributors of all ages find they are valued.

The format of the paper is original, eliciting material from three viewpoints on research and involvement.

Old age, in its most intense and extreme aspects involving frailty, dementia, Alzheimer's and death, is more often ignored rather than discussed in contemporary anthropology, remaining largely inaudible and invisible. This paper explores the marginal position of the study of old age in contemporary anthropology against the backdrop of the prominence of the post‐colonial agenda. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the comparison between the neglected Third Age and the abundantly discussed Third World in the context of the anthropological discourse on others.

This is a theoretical paper on ageing.

This paper explores the marginal position of the study of old age in contemporary anthropology against the backdrop of the prominence of the post‐colonial agenda. The comparison between the neglected Third Age and the abundantly discussed Third World is discussed in the context of the anthropological discourse on others. Studying the old‐as‐other reveals two types of alterity: that which is culturally constructed as different vs that which is essentially different. The others that dominate the agenda of contemporary anthropology are culturally constructed, while the old‐as‐other is an ontological essence. The condition of being old, it is argued, is essentially beyond culture, constituting an extra‐cultural materiality. As such, the old‐as‐other does not answer to the anthropological dictum of representing the “natives' point of view” and cannot fit the contemporary hermeneutics of anthropological relativism. Contemporary anthropology, which resists essential objects such as the savage and the old, thus ignores the raw materiality of old age while producing ethnographically‐informed commentaries on eldercare.

The paper is original in highlighting the juxtaposition between the savage and old age that is used to facilitate an understanding of the contemporary discipline of anthropology as a regime of social constructionism, which fails to confront and represent the bare materiality of old age.

New South Wales (NSW) was the first state in Australia to introduce a legislative requirement to undertake affirmative action for members of particular target groups in order to achieve equality of opportunity in employment. This requirement was introduced in 1980 as an amendment to the NSW Anti‐ Discrimination Act 1977. Referred to as Part IXa, the amendment required all public service departments and statutory authorities to produce an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Management Plan, setting out strategies by which EEO could be achieved for target group members, and to report annually to the Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment (DEOPE) on progress made towards this goal.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the research which has examined the link between autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and offending behaviour and the impact of prison on individuals with ASDs. Studies suggest that inmates with ASDs may be at an increased risk of bullying, confrontations, exploitation, anxiety and social isolation as a result of their ASD traits such as obsessions, social naivety and impaired empathy.

An extensive review of the literature.

The review identifies a modest amount of studies (n=4) which have explored the experience of individuals with ASD in prison and highlights that inmates with ASDs face a multitude of problems when they enter prison. Despite an extensive literature search only one study was identified which investigated the knowledge and understanding of ASDs amongst prison staff.

Further research is urgently needed to consider the specific problems faced by inmates with ASD, to identify how to make the prison environment safer and more supportive for inmates with ASD and how to reduce the likelihood of re-offending.

This review highlights that, to date, there has been relatively little to guide service design in order to develop support services for individuals with ASD in prison. There has been a scarcity of studies investigating the effectiveness of various treatment models to target offending behaviour in individuals with ASD.

This paper fulfils an identified need to study and identify the specific problems faced by inmates with ASD and to identify changes which are required to provide an environment in prison which is safer and more supportive.

This paper aims to consider enforced working from home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how it may differ from working from home through choice. In particular, the authors discuss how lockdown may be affecting work-family arrangements.

This is a thought piece.

The paper briefly examines the extant research on remote working. It is argued that as many of the (beneficial) outcomes found for both employees and employers are associated with feelings of greater autonomy and gratitude on the part of employees for being able to exercise choice over their working arrangements, these outcomes may not be found where working from home is required of employees. The authors contend that women, and mothers in particular, have had little choice in relation to when work has taken place, and how much work has been done.

The authors urge employers to consider the positive and negative outcomes of emerging evidence as they review their flexible working policies. They call for a widespread review of childcare provision in supporting women and men in the labour market.

The authors explore this unexpected context of the pandemic and highlight the need for research which examines these different circumstances.

Despite an increasing number of studies that examine sexual offending behaviour in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) individuals, there has been a lack of research investigating stalking and ASD. This study aims to carry out a scoping review following PRISMA guidelines to identify studies which have been carried out exploring stalking behaviour in individuals with threshold or subthreshold ASD.

A total of five bibliographic databases were searched to identify studies which explored ASD in relation to stalking and harassment (including case studies as well as empirical studies).

A total of five relevant articles were identified in the present review. One article contained a case study. In a short report, the authors discussed stalking and ASD. One paper explored ASD and stalking behaviour in employment settings and specific interventions that could be used in such environments. Another paper focused on stalking behaviour in those with ASD in school settings. The final paper examined stalking and social and romantic functioning in individuals with ASD. This final paper contained only the empirical study identified in this search.

The studies identified in this review clearly highlight the need for intensive socio-sexual interventions to improve social interaction skills and romantic functioning in individuals with ASD. There is also a need for schools to provide sex education programs for individuals with ASD.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first review looking at ASD and stalking.