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In 2019, St Johns Winchester, a CQC-registered charity, launched the Hand in Hand (HiH) Service, a social prescribing (SP) initiative to alleviate social isolation/loneliness amongst older people via integration between primary care and the third sector. Arising from collaborative stakeholder reflection, this article explicates processes instigated to plan, implement and evaluate the HiH service which has been locally recognised as an exemplar of good practice. It aims to fill a gap in the literature which has hitherto lacked contextual description of the drivers, mechanisms and processes of SP schemes, leading to confusion over what constitutes SP and which models can work.

The article defines the context of, drivers for and collaborative process followed to implement and evaluate HiH and reflects on challenges, facilitators and key points for transferable learning. Early evaluation findings are presented.

Key features underpinning the success of the pilot phase were: having clear referral pathways, working collaboratively with health and voluntary sector partners, building relationships based on trust, adherence to high-quality standards and governance, a well-trained team of volunteers and access to up-to-date information source. There remains a disparity between the urgent need for rigorous evaluation data and the resources available to produce it.

The article offers a novel contribution for those planning SP at the level of practice and policy and for the developing field of SP evaluation.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and delivery of an aftercare programme called Learning To Live Again, which was co-produced between service users and clinic staff.

In total, 37 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 project stakeholders who were service users, mentors, university and clinical staff. The data were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.

Four overarching themes were identified in the analysis of interview data as characterising the process of co-producing an aftercare programme. These were: achieving common ground, roles and responsibilities, the activities programme and the road to recovery. Interdependence of service users and clinicians was given strong emphasis.

A number of challenges arise in co-producing an aftercare programme which is largely service user led and adds to the local recovery capital. The benefits of co-producing aftercare outweigh the difficulties and the programme can be set up within existing resources. Given the study's focus on the process of setting up and maintaining an aftercare programme, no attempt was made to evaluate the improvement in outcomes or cost-effectiveness.

Many peer-mentor-led aftercare programmes have been set up and this paper describes stakeholders’ thoughts about the challenges and benefits of co-producing an aftercare programme.

Not many weeks back, according to newspaper reports, three members of the library staff of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London were dismissed. All had refused to carry out issue desk duty. All, according to the newspaper account, were members of ASTMS. None, according to the Library Association yearbook, was a member of the appropriate professional organisation for librarians in Great Britain.

This paper argues for the recognition of regional-consumers’ perceptions of growing food in the landscape. This paper aims to explore the hidden value of observed landscapes and lived “lifescapes” as unformulated brand experiences, particularly those relevant to regional meat. These inform the brand identity construct following Kapferer’s (1997) brand identity framework. It is the local consumers’ gaze, which is of interest, as this lives and digests the place. As an often unconscious experience, it must be recognised, articulated and formalised into a brand to enable authentic communications of place meaning to visitors.

In total, 20 soft-laddering interviews and hierarchical value maps identified the most frequent connections made by local residents for the Cumbrian fells. The cognitions and rationalisations used by residents in considering their lamb choices are revealed using this method and understanding of these linkages feeds into the development of brand identity (Kapferer, 1997). Gengler et al. (1995) offer a guide on means-end chain (MEC) data analysis, which was used in processing the data.

MEC findings showed that people experience places populated with flocks of sheep/local meat in production and perceive its qualities and characteristics as influenced by terroir conditions, by season and their own relationship with the landscape and with the local community. In essence, they experience the brand of these “products” prior to their status as products (Kapferer, 2007; Jacobsen, 2012). The revealed limitations of both servicescape and of attribute-related literature are discussed relative to the timing of the visual impact experienced by local consumers.

The paper provides a summary of the brand identity for Herdwick lamb (HL), which has emerged from the research process (Figure 2). This example may be useful in discussions with practitioners involved in HL brand development.

The opportunity to reveal local residents’ experiences of “pre-products” in the landscape is discussed as a source of latent and authentic brand relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the value and learning potential of work‐based projects to both worker‐researchers and their organisations.

Within the School of Health, Community and Education Studies at Northumbria University, work‐based learning (WBL) programmes are becoming increasingly important as a vehicle to enable individuals to gain academic credit and qualifications through developing their personal and professional repertoire of skills and knowledge, and also as a mechanism to improve organisational practice/change. To this end the School has used work‐based projects (WBPs) to work innovatively in partnership with employers. Three short case studies are used to explore how WBPs have been used effectively to meet the particular needs of both the workplace and the learner and to discuss the challenges that these initiatives pose in higher education (HE).

The paper finds that a number of identified issues currently challenging the authors' approaches to WBL have a wider resonance across the WBL community: issues concerning individuals undertaking work‐based‐learning who are unfamiliar with academic learning and how they can be supported to use the skills of enquiry as a tool to implement change in practice; the complexities of using WBL approaches within multi‐ professional groups at differing stages in the continuum from novice to expert and who present individual diverse entry behaviour and learning needs; and the challenges facing the WBL academic working, to recognise and assess the diverse learning acquired throughout the WBL journey so that it can be formally recognised within an HE setting.

The interrelation between action learning, action research and WBPs is introduced and discussed and the impact of the WBL process on the learner, the HE academic and the organisation scrutinised.

This chapter is a comprehensive discussion of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across the globe (e.g., United States, China, Brazil, Japan and Turkey). Topics that are discussed include the following: diagnostic criteria and approaches; international perspectives of ASD; western and eastern assessment practices; cultural considerations of assessment of ASD; educational and medical interventions; behavioral and emotional interventions; complementary and alternative medical interventions; variations in educational services among countries; early intervention practices; adult services; national and international resources; and current needs and future directions.

Most current research emphasises the benefits of mobile communications for consumers. The purpose of this paper, however, is to investigate the neglected negative effect of “m‐bullying” on young consumers, to expand the understanding of the pervasive impact of enhanced mobile communication.

Data were collected using a cross‐sectional mall intercept method. The survey instrument comprised of sets of statements about the self and the experience of using mobile phones, followed by a set of demographic questions.

Findings indicate both genders experience m‐bullying and that levels of self‐esteem were found to have a direct effect on overall well being.

While prior research emphasised the positive aspects of enhanced connectivity, this paper advances understanding of the negative aspects of mobile communications and identified the risk of bullying inherent in continuous communication.

Natural Law philosophy asserts that there are universally binding and universally evident principles that can be determined to guide the actions of persons. Moreover, many of these principles have been enshrined in both statute and common law, thus ensuring their saliency for staff and institutions charged with palliative care. The authors examine the often emotive and politicized matter of (non-voluntary) euthanasia – acts or omissions made with the intent of causing or hastening death – with reference to Natural Law philosophy. This leads us to propose a number of important public policy remedies to ensure dignity in dying for the patient, and their associates.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the development of a toolkit designed to assist UK small to medium enterprise businesses (SMEs) manage work‐life balance (WLB) policies and practice issues, across the life stages.

A multi‐method approach was adopted combining a literature review, limited empirical study and piloting of the toolkit.

Life stages pose complex work‐life challenges for employees and resource and workforce management issues for employers. Demographics, employment cultures and socio‐economic and labour market trends impact on the physical and psychological wellbeing of employees. In striving to fulfil multiple work‐life roles, workers constantly face challenges in terms of (un)paid work/non‐work commitments, caring responsibilities and changing family structures resulting in work/family tensions. This leads to workforce planning, recruitment and retention costs for businesses. Employers face challenges in working with the growing number of WLB policies and in monitoring and evaluating policies, practices and procedures. SMEs require support to adopt a comprehensive WLB approach, whilst meeting operational requirements within resource capabilities and ensuring business sustainability.

The toolkit is a source of WLB guidance for practitioners and those with an HR role in SMEs. The paper encourages reflection on research from business and social science research to better inform human resource (HR) practice.

The paper identifies the critical need for “WLB across the life‐stages” policy and practice guidance for UK SMEs.