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Confidentiality in adoption has been the norm in this country since the 1930s. Traditionally, it has been perceived as beneficial to all sides of the adoption triangle: the adoptive parents, the adoptee, and the birth parents. Adoption agencies have supported the policy of confidentiality, and as a result the practice of concealment is almost universal in the United States. Alaska, Hawaii, and Kansas are the only states that allow adult adoptees access to their birth and adoption information.

Personality disorder is reported to elicit strong emotional responses and negative attitudes in mental health staff (Bodner et al., 2015). The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the design and development of a co-produced e-learning training package for personality disorder awareness and an evaluation of its effectiveness. This study was carried out to explore if e-learning is an effective mode of training delivery for raising personality disorder awareness.

The e-learning was uniquely developed by subject matter experts working in co-production with people with lived experience. Self-reported measures were completed at three separate intervals to evaluate the effectiveness of the training: at pre-, post- and three-month follow up. Quantitative data were collected via these questionnaires.

The results from this evaluation show that e-learning is an effective mode of delivery for raising the awareness of personality disorder among mental health professionals, achieving similar outcomes to those reported following face-to-ace training.

Attrition at follow-up phase was high which was consistent with other similar studies. The evaluation was led by the lead contributors and in the geographical area of its development. The study was relatively small and the participants were self-selected, therefore findings should be treated with caution.

E-learning can provide flexible training to compliment and act as an alternative to face-to-face personality disorder training. E-learning may provide an alternative refresher course to knowledge and understanding framework or other face-to-face methods. Co-produced training can be mirrored within an e-learning programme, careful planning to ensure the service user voice is heard and that their lived experience is embraced is required.

This is the first evaluation of a co-produced e-learning only personality disorder awareness training. It is also the first paper to carry out a review of the published evaluations of personality awareness training in the UK with comparisons explored across the studies.

Carers of people with mental health problems present with high levels of burden, poor mental well-being and feelings of disempowerment by mental health services. The purpose of this paper is to establish whether providing a psychoeducation skill programme for carers would lead to an improvement of mental well-being, reduce the levels of burden that carers sometimes feel while caring for someone with mental illness and also to increase empowerment. This paper provides a service evaluation study of an innovative carer-led psychoeducational intervention that was undertaken.

This programme was initiated and led by a carer who had experienced a lack of service provision to support carers and families in understanding and caring for a relative with severe and enduring mental health diagnoses. A model of co-production was adopted with the carer who led this initiative working closely with an occupational therapist and consultant psychologist in its development and delivery. Data were collected to measure the impact of the training at five different time points. The measures employed to measure outcomes were the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, the Burden Assessment Scale and Family Empowerment Scale.

Results indicated improved well-being, reduced burden and increased family empowerment in carers who completed this peer-led carer initiative psychoeducational programme.

This service evaluation study was conducted in a single site and in the site in which it was developed. The carer consultant who led this evaluation and development of the intervention was also the peer worker who delivered the interventions. Hence, the authors are unable to ascertain if the results reported are unique to the individual peer worker. The transferability of this programme and generalisability of the result should therefore be treated with caution and further replication of this model and research is required. This would be beneficial to be conducted in an alternative site from where it was developed, delivered by different facilitators and include a control group.

The evidence from this study indicates that carers are able and willing to attend a group psychoeducational programme. A high number of referrals to the programme in a relatively short timeframe indicates that there is significant demand for such a service. The implementation of the programme is relatively straightforward. The key challenges for practical implementation are to have the right carer to lead and deliver the programme and the right support system in place for them (financial and supervision). Co-production also is not without challenges, the peer worker and occupational staff need to ensure that mutually valued and respected working relationship should develop.

This is the first evaluation of the impact of a carer-led psychoeducation intervention for carers of people with mental health difficulties in secondary mental health services.

The authors, with disparate organisational affiliations and in different geographic locations, worked together on a qualitative multiple-case study of ad hoc supervisory encounters between general practice (GP) supervisors and GP-registrars. The purpose of this paper is to share our experiences and learning to highlight how valuable pilot work can be when conducting team-based qualitative research.

This paper outlines the value of pilot work in consolidating whole team understanding of the research plan, using our experiences as an example. We first offer a synthesis of published literature relating to pilot work, especially in qualitative research approaches. Next, we outline and justify the pilot work undertaken for the ad hoc supervision study. Lastly, we use each researcher’s voice to describe our experiences and then share the lessons we learned undertaking pilot work in qualitative research.

We found that while pilot work can be useful in refining strategies, data collection processes and analytic instruments. There are further benefits in galvanising whole team understanding of the research plan, in encouraging reflexivity, in ensuring transparency of the research process, and for ethical considerations.

There are few published papers or books which offer researchers guidance regarding pilot work, especially within a qualitative paradigm. Our experience shows there is value in planning and conducting pilot work. We believe others may benefit from our experience as they embark on team-based research.

This exploratory research opens a new avenue of tourism destination enquiry for Dhofar Governorate, Oman. It examines the relationship between the food tourism landscape in the country’s southernmost region and the Government’s stated economic development goals. Tourism is a new industry here and in need of sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to identify how the natural and human resources of the region may be harnessed to expand food tourism pathways and achieve sustainable economic development e.g. maximising stakeholder benefits.

The literature review highlights many new developments in food tourism for this baseline study. Qualitative and quantitative (i.e. mixed) methods are used including a case study, a pilot survey of key Government stakeholders in Oman’s Ministry of Tourism, food factory tours and interviews with their executives in Dhofar, direct and participant observation at food establishments and events, visits to popular roadside and market food stalls in Salalah and tourism trend analysis.

Some recent trends in food tourism elsewhere may be adapted in Salalah and spark interest in the food culture and heritage of Dhofar. This, in turn, may bring multiple benefits to the destination’s stakeholders. The governorate’s environment yields a rich variety of agricultural and other food products that may be used to provide new forms of food tourism and increase the region’s appeal to tourists beyond the Khareef season. Further possible benefits include safeguarding local food knowledge, production, culture and heritage, developing SMEs, creating new jobs and increasing visitor stay and spend.

The study is conducted solely in English, whereas Arabic is the mother tongue in Oman. Dhofar is the country’s largest governorate occupying a vast area, not all of which is covered by the study. More data are needed to inform tourism development, policymaking and planning in Dhofar.

Improving tourism’s sustainability profile, creating successful food tourism products and services and achieving Dhofar’s economic development goals require concerted effort. All are in the best interest of the tourism stakeholders concerned.

This paper provides a foundation for future research on this topic. It highlights the importance of placing food tourism development on a sustainable footing to protect and preserve Dhofar’s unique food culture, heritage, traditions and environment, extend the main tourism season and maximise benefits to stakeholders.

Recent trends in food tourism are investigated to gauge their applicability in this dynamic region of Oman. Ideas are presented demonstrating possible food tourism pathways to sustainable economic development that benefit a wide range of stakeholders e.g. food tours, food factory tours and shops, food festivals and cookery-school holidays and/or classes.

Conflict and resistance on the part of employees assigned to teams have accompanied the recent increase in the use of work teams in organizations. Previous empirical research identified several sources of employee resistance including violations of fairness, increased work‐load concerns, uncertain manager support, unclear role definitions, and lack of team member social support. From a literature review, we identified additional sources of employee resistance including trust, cultural values, and low tolerance for change. Empirically, we conducted a content analysis of 1,060 open‐ended comments of employees in two Fortune 50 organizations who were newly assigned to self‐managing work teams (SMWTs). The results suggest that employees' concerns did reflect issues of trust and low tolerance for change, but not cultural values. We discuss the implications of our findings for conflict management scholars as well as managers who are charged with handling increased conflict due to employee resistance to teams.

In this paper, findings from the negotiation literature are tested in the context of mergers. Firms' relative threat capacity, surveillance by constituents, accountability to constituents, and the attractiveness of initial offers are shown to predict management's resistance to mergers in a manner consistent with theories in the negotiation literature. The pattern of predicted two‐way and three‐way interactions support speculations and findings previously reported in the negotiation literature as well. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

This study focuses on the dynamic relationship between organizational actors and engaged scholars involved in a normative assessment conducted in a public organization managing major projects.

We build on a 15-month engaged scholarship experience carried out in the Ministry of Transport of Quebec. We explain and analyze the normative assessment process, using a storytelling approach and vignettes to explore four situated learning moments.

This study offers a deeper understanding of how normative assessment is conducted, and how situated and collective learning occur throughout. We find that both organizational actors and researchers learn through this process and synchronize their mutual learning such that researchers actually participate in a larger organizational transformation.

Like any qualitative endeavor, this research is context-specific. We offer several research avenues to extend the applicability of findings.

This article could inspire organizations and scholars to collaborate on normative assessment during organizational transformation. This approach is of particular interest in the context of a worldwide pandemic where public and private organizations all have to adapt to new sanitary, economic, technological and social realities.

In a context marked by growing concern for the research-practice gap and the relevance of scholarship, our study illustrates the development of a mutually beneficial collaboration between practitioners and researchers that enhances understanding of complex organizational phenomena and issues.

This research highlights the relevance of engaged scholarship and supports normative assessment as a social process to generate mutual learning.

To migrate from traditional business planning, which confines itself to analyzing the current situation, to planning an innovation strategy, which incorporates innovation and uncertainty, you need more than a map—you need an atlas.

The purpose of this paper is to present a model that explores the relationship between inclusive leadership, inclusive climates and sexual harassment and other negative work-related outcomes, at the work unit and individual levels.

A conceptual model of inclusive work unit leadership, inclusive work unit climate and sexual harassment based on a review of the literature.

Leaders who behave more inclusively are expected to have work units and work unit members who experience more positive outcomes and fewer negative outcomes including sexual harassment and other forms of mistreatment. Leaders impact their work unit and work unit members' outcomes directly as well as indirectly through the more inclusive work unit climates they create.

The sexual harassment literature has identified climate for sexual harassment as a key predictor of sexually harassing behavior and its attendant negative outcomes. A focus on a broader inclusive climate, and inclusive leadership, may provide a richer understanding of the conditions under which sexual harassment and other forms of mistreatment occur and can be mitigated.

This model can help identify strategies organizations can employ (e.g. inclusive leadership development programs) to combat sexual harassment.

This model may improve understanding of the systemic, organizational causes of sexual harassment reducing sexual harassment victims' potential self-blame and helping policymakers craft more effective sexual harassment interventions.

The paper conceives of work climates that contribute to sexual harassment more broadly than generally has been the case in the sexual harassment literature to date. The model highlights the important role that leaders play in shaping inclusive climates. It also contributes to the nascent literature on inclusion and inclusive climates, which has paid relatively little attention to exclusion and mistreatment including sexual harassment that are likely to arise in less inclusive workplaces.