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Traditional methods of addressing workplace violence have relied almost solely on reactive measures. Methods of de‐escalation, strategies to calm the already distressed person down by means of positive communication, or responding to an actual or potential act of violence by means of physical control have formed the focus of training initiatives provided for staff. This approach has suggested an acceptance of the premise that violence in certain services is an inevitable problem that must be managed. This paper proposes that many incidents can be prevented and outlines the emerging evidence to support a structured, holistic approach. Additionally, it provides an overview of the recent policy agenda, the evidence base and examples of some recent and ongoing development work that attempts to change practice.

Breakaway training is a mandatory training programme for mental health staff in both NHS and private services. However, the question that remains outstanding from the recent guidance on the management of short‐term violence published by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) (NICE, 2005a; 2005b) is whether breakaway training is effective?This paper provides a history of and evidence for breakaway training, and a study examining the content of breakaway training in one English high secure hospital is provided.

Prisoners are supposed to receive health care that is equivalent to that provided in the community. There is a high prevalence of mental ill health in prisons, and prisoners tend to have complex needs. Prison mental health care has received only limited attention until recently. The impact of the new in ‐reach teams appears to have been positive, but primary mental health care is weak across the prison estate and the vast majority of prisoners with mental health problems still receive little or no service. The development of prison mental health care has not been evidence‐based and there has been no policy implementation guidance that compares to that provided for reforms in services for the wider community. There is no model for prison mental health care and the role of the prison mental health practitioner is not well defined, nor is the health care workforce prepared for the task.

This paper aims to assess whether the factor structure of the Psychopathic Processing and Personality Assessment (PAPA) could be confirmed in a large community sample (n = 1,850), comprising three subsamples of adult men (n = 189, 248 and 198) and women (n = 499, 469 and 247). It was predicted that the four-factor solution originally proposed in earlier studies (i.e. dissocial tendencies, emotional detachment, disregard for others, lack of sensitivity to emotion) would be replicated and produce a multi-dimensional structure consistent across sex.

This study explored the structure of the newly developed PAPA among a non-forensic sample.

Although exploratory analysis indicated a four-factor solution, the structure was different with “lack of sensitivity to emotion” being replaced by “responsiveness to perceived aggression.” Confirmatory analyses supported this structure among women, yet a three-factor structure was preferred for men that excluded emotional detachment.

This study highlights the importance of attending to sex differences when assessing for psychopathy.

This is the first confirmatory factor analysis completed on the PAPA, with the findings conveying its value when assessing for psychopathic traits among a community sample.

Examines a team system using a case study approach in a sewn products plant that transitioned to the team system almost ten years ago. The theoretical framework utilized in the analysis of data was participative management, wherein it has been found that there is a relationship between employee knowledge and performance. Specific themes that arose were successes in the transition to the new team system, including benefits to the plant, and ongoing challenges of the new team system. Data were based on 16 in‐depth personal interviews, observations, written documents, and informal conversations with plant employees. The key elements of success in the transition were commitment by upper level managers, education for all employees, and the establishment of open communication among employees and with management. The team system resulted in a number of benefits and challenges to the plant as a whole.

The purpose of this paper is to compare health and information literacy with a focus on how the development of these concepts within two disciplines (nursing and library/information science) impacts librarian/nurse educator shared understanding.

This paper uses a modified concept comparison method. The comparison, grounded in two seminal concept analysis articles, identifies common and unique antecedents, attributes and consequences of each concept.

Health and information literacy share common antecedents and attributes: literacy, health or information need, comprehension, decision-making and degree of technological competency. Unique to health literacy is an emphasis on interactive communication and unique to information literacy is a focus on discovery and search skills.

This concept comparison uses a snapshot approach rather than a full literature review. This work suggests further research into health literacy and information literacy as related concepts in the literature and how multidisciplinary concept comparison can be effectively framed.

Librarians and nurse educators collaborating on complex concepts such as these should use available definitions, and evidence, to reach shared understanding. Librarians are encouraged to communicate with database developers to address questions and inconsistencies in subject headings.

This paper presents the first concept comparison of health and information literacy using the concept comparison method – an adaptation of concept analysis methods frequently used in nursing literature, developed by Walker and Avant, Rodgers and Knafl and others.

Supply chains can improve their performance by developing competitive priorities in a specified sequence: quality, reliability, flexibility, agility, and finally, cost efficiency. This paper extends Ferdows and De Meyer's (1990) sand cone model and Vokurka and Fliedner's (1998) sand cone model extension incorporating agility to supply chain management priorities. This work provides a framework for a cumulative and sustainable improvement process by which supply chains can build a strategic competitive advantage.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the role of perceived ability to participate in decision making in the workplace, with respect to job satisfaction.

Data from the fourth wave of the European Value Survey, is utilised, and a bivariate probit model is employed to account for unobserved heterogeneity.

Empirical analysis comparing univariate and bivariate probit models reveals that the results from the former are negatively biased; potentially indicating that prior research may have underestimated the impact of participative decision making (PDM) on job satisfaction. Additionally, it appears clear that the magnitude of the marginal effects for both socio-demographic and work characteristics do not differ when comparing workers with above and below average participation. More importantly, the authors find a substantial negative marginal effect of below average participation on job satisfaction (close to three times the magnitude of the next largest marginal effect estimated in the model), indicating how crucial it is for employers to actively pursue programmes that enhance PDM.

This study contributes to the growing literature aimed at understanding drivers of satisfaction in the workplace. Adding to the scant empirical investigation of the influence of PDM on job satisfaction, the authors find strong evidence of a direct and positive impact, which is further amplified after controlling for unobserved heterogeneity.

Explores the potential use of behavioural and physiological biometric techniques in the battle against credit card fraud in the retail environment. Discusses automatic speaker and dynamic signature verification, fingerprint and facial recognition, retinal and iris scanning, and hand and finger geometry. The requirement for recognition performance, speed of use, usability and customer acceptance, device and card cost are considered, along with industry standards for biometric devices.

Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Term. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.