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The New Ways of Working (NWW) initiative was launched in 2004 to build a more flexible and skilled mental health workforce. This paper explores the journey through inpatient care under a new acute care team (ACT) model, piloted in Mersey Care NHS Trust as part of the redesign of services under the NWW. Fourteen service users were interviewed face‐to‐face, using an interview schedule of open‐ended questions administered by service user and carer interviewers. Service user perspectives on the admission process and inpatient care were reported as predominantly negative. Service user perspectives on the discharge process and aftercare were reported as predominantly positive. The need for clear and unambiguous care pathways, adequate information, good communication, and to have continuity of care and positive relationships with staff emerged as key themes.

Prior studies of criminal sentencing have largely focused on individual-level predictors of sentencing outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of a variety of theoretically derived community measurements of social threat and disadvantage on the criminal sentencing of convicted felons. This analysis permits an evaluation of whether legal ideals such as equality before the law and policy goals of equal treatment for like offenders are achieved.

The study examines data of individuals sentenced in the state of Florida and community level measurements of racial and ethnic threat and community disadvantage. Hierarchical generalized linear model is used to analyze the effect of these measures on the dichotomous in/out imprisonment variable, and standard hierarchical linear regression analysis is used to model the continuous dependent variable of sentence length.

The results provide support for the racial threat perspective though not for ethnic threat nor community disadvantage. The findings and their implications are discussed in terms of theory, research and policy.

Racial disparity in criminal justice practices is receiving increasing public and policy attention, as evidenced by the growing Black Lives Matter movement. Regarding sentencing, racial disparity remains a major research and policy question. While the current research and theoretical literature on sentencing is not conclusive, it is clear that race matters. As a result, racial disparity in sentencing needs to be a priority in subsequent “transitional criminology” efforts between researchers and policy makers to identify, explain and ultimately predict exactly how race impacts sentencing, and how to reduce it as a consideration from sentencing.

This study contributes to a growing body of literature that examines the social context of punishments by using several community level measurements of threat and disadvantage, while modeling the two-step sentencing outcome of imprisonment and sentence length.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of assisted desistance from the perspective of women involved in the criminal justice system. It focusses on two community projects set up in the aftermath of the 2007 Corston Report, Northshire Women’s Centres (WCs) and the Housing for Northshire project.

Through analysis of a year of observation in these settings and 23 narrative interviews with staff and service users, the paper notes the differences between risk-focussed and desistance-focussed justice for women.

Neither projects are a panacea; however, they offer an insight into desistance-focussed practice. The findings would suggest that the projects provide social justice as opposed to criminal justice, particularly because of their flexible approach and awareness of the relational elements involved in female desistance.

The in-depth, qualitative data provided challenges the “payment by results” rhetoric which demands positivist research that promotes an understanding of desistance as a binary outcome. Implications for policy are considered.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the case for the incremental development of corporate strategy and related issues of management development.

A background in consultancy and management development in the UK and abroad is used to examine the potential dangers of radical and comprehensive innovations in corporate strategy and the potential benefits of an incremental approach. In addition, recent developments and examples are referred to as well as relevant literature.

The paper finds that there are two main potential dangers with the development of a comprehensive corporate strategy. The first is that the exercise may prove to be so daunting that it is effectively abandoned. The second is that comprehensive strategy innovations are based on too narrow a consideration of the issues and may be counter‐productive. A broad based consideration of corporate strategy may create a greater emphasis on the incremental approach.

Examples partly from consultancy work have been relied on to make the case for a greater emphasis on the incremental development of corporate strategy and related academic coverage of the subject. The paper's main thesis is that if the process whereby strategy is developed is deficient, then the results may well be counter‐productive. This is especially likely if comprehensive change is planned.

The two‐part paper is a necessary examination of the dangers of corporate strategy development that is based on too narrow a range of functions and disciplines. The same limitations can be replicated in academic coverage of the area. The paper is meant to engender a necessary scepticism about the way corporate strategy can be realistically developed. Constructive advice is also given about broad‐based strategy development and related management learning and development issues.

A very attractive glossy, The British Library Past Present Future (ISBN 0‐7123‐0196‐8), its publication made possible due to the generous sponsorship of the Chadwick‐Healey Publishing Group, describes in text illustrated with many brilliantly‐taken colour photographs the history, present achievements and services of a great British institution. At its subsidised price of £5.95 for 64 pages it is excellent value for money and does justice to the rich and diverse collections of the British Library and emphasises its importance as our heritage.

READERS can be forgiven if they have thought, from time to time, that we are anti‐union. This is not true, although we admit to thinking that they have for a long time forgotten their prime reason for existence — to fight for human rights for their members against what were, in days long gone by, very inhuman employers.

The implications of the Single European Market for libraries and information services are considered with some examples of what is being done. After a general introduction to 1992, the Plan of Action for Libraries in the EC is considered and the library implications of the five Action Lines. The roles of European Documentation Centres, EC Depository Libraries, European Reference Centres; Euro Information Centres and online databases are considered, together with developments in co‐operation and also the human implications.

Describes key aspects of the methodology and outcomes of the JISC User Behaviour Monitoring and Evaluation Framework in its first three annual cycles (1999‐2002). The Framework was initiated to assure the JISC that their investment in digital content and network infrastructure facilitates use and learning, and to identify barriers and facilitators to the use of electronic information services (EIS). Key Framework outcomes are: a multi‐dimensional across sector methodology for the continued monitoring of user behaviour in respect of EIS and the factors that impact on that behaviour; a profile of user behaviour in respect of EIS over the three annual cycles of the Framework; the EIS Diagnostic Toolkit that can be used to benchmark development in the provision and use of EIS in specific disciplines or at specific institutions; a methodology for monitoring, and a profile of the EIS resources available to higher and further education users; and a summary of some of the key issues in their provision. The challenge for the future is the embedding of EIS in curricula and learning experiences.

1 January 1992 is the date that The Library Charges (England and Wales) Regulations come into force and bring the philosophy of the free market into the public library world for the first time. Library authorities will be able to make a charge for, amongst other things, “assisting or instructing a person how to use a computer”, “for providing a room or cubicle on library premises for the purpose of working or studying…” and “for researching and for collating information for and at the request of a person”. Not only that but “the amount and the incidence of any charge made…shall be at the discretion of the relevant authority”. But you will doubtless be relieved to know that basic lending and reference provision will continue to be free in the old‐fashioned sense of the word.