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The aim of this paper is to contribute to understanding the nature of specialist and generalist human capital by exploring the ways in which knowledge workers view their experience of working in specialist and generalist roles in pharmaceutical firms in Ireland and the UK.

The findings are based on interviews with 55 knowledge workers employed in a range of scientific, technical and managerial positions in four Irish and two UK firms located in the pharmaceutical sector. Interviews were also conducted with nine human resource/training and development managers within these six firms.

The findings suggest that the categorisation of human capital as either specialist or generalist is too rigid and does not take account of the fact that individuals may themselves choose to shape their careers by investing in a range of education, training and development opportunities that will enable them to move between specialist and generalist roles.

The paper unpacks the concepts of specialist and generalist human capital from an employee perspective and challenges the sharp distinction that is made between specialist and generalist human capital.

The purpose of this audit was to explore the experiences of 42 professionals trained over a three‐year period as trainers in behavioural family therapy. Trainers completed a questionnaire designed to explore their motivations, frustrations, sources of support and benefits they experienced through involvement with the Meriden Family Programme. Quasi‐qualitative, thematic analyses were performed on the data. The audit found numerous intrinsic motivations for being a trainer, as well as a wide range of benefits, including belief in the approach, wanting to help families, enjoyment of teaching and professional development. Frustrations encountered were disinterest of staff, lack of support and restrictions on the trainers' role. Trainers were resourceful and used various solutions to overcome these. Recommendations are made on how to manage and maintain enthusiasm and support of trainers, or other family work champions.

This chapter sets out the political participation of a group of young socialists in Manchester. The analysis indicates that the young socialists’ participation was driven by a critique of the structural conditions of capitalism. The young people in this group deliberately eschewed discussions of individual stories in their group’s activism, or in recounting what brought them to the group. In doing so, they reject the place of individual needs and stories (framed here as an element of ‘identity politics’) in bringing about the societal change they believe is necessary. This is not to say that they deny the place or role of identity politics but, rather, that they want to supplement achieving change in individual categories of oppression by creating the economic (i.e. non-capitalist) conditions where all oppressions are eliminated. The young socialists’ participation in terms of their group sessions was quite formal in nature (lecture, discussion, etc.) and was concerned with education and theoretical debate, replicating practices from the socialist movement. Drawing on contemporary theory the chapter argues that the socialist students compare greatly to other young people who may be cast as ‘radically unpolitical’ because of the socialists’ sober adherence to an old ideology.

Participation in community programmes by the Roma community is low, whilst this community presents with high risk of poor health and low levels of wellbeing. To improve rates of participation in programmes, compatibility must be achieved between implementation efforts and levels of readiness in the community. The Community Readiness Model (CRM) is a widely used toolkit which provides an indication of how prepared and willing a community is to take action on specific issues. The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a CRM assessment for the Eastern European Roma community in Bradford, UK, on issues related to nutrition and obesity.

The authors interviewed key respondents identified as knowledgeable about the Roma community using the CRM. This approach applies a mixed methodology incorporating readiness scores and qualitative data. A mean community readiness score was calculated enabling researchers to place the community in one of nine possible stages of readiness. Interview transcripts were analysed using a qualitative framework analysis to generate the contextual information.

An overall score consistent with vague awareness was achieved, which indicates a low level of community readiness. This score suggests that there will be a low likelihood of participation in currently available nutrition and obesity programmes.

To our knowledge, this is the first study to apply the CRM in the Roma community for any issue. The authors present the findings for each of the six dimensions that make up the CRM together with salient qualitative findings.

Parenting programmes are increasingly a feature of services and policies aimed at improving outcomes for children and families and tackling inequality, yet they remain underused. This study aims to assess parent engagement and retention in the parent and infant (PIN) programme – a universal, multi-component intervention designed to support parents from birth to when their children reach two years of age. The programme can be tailored to parent/community needs but also includes standardised core elements including two Incredible Years parenting programmes. Programme provider perspectives on recruiting and supporting participation were also explored.

A mixed methods study was conducted involving parents (n = 106) and programme providers involved in the PIN programme. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the impact of participant demographic characteristics on the likelihood of programme engagement and attendance. Semi-structured interviews explored facilitators’ experiences of parent recruitment and engagement, as well as barriers and facilitators of parental attendance.

First-time mothers were more likely to initially enrol in the PIN programme than younger or lone parents. However, older age and married/cohabiting status were the strongest predictors of attending at least one-third of programme sessions. Qualitative findings highlighted the importance of relationship building and connection in supporting participant recruitment and engagement. Practical and psychological barriers to programme participation are also described.

The findings shed light on factors that influence engagement and attendance in universal, early parent support programmes. Barriers to parent engagement are multi-layered and tailored strategies to promote uptake of parenting programmes are needed.