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1 – 10 of 18Ann Mooney, Janet Boddy, June Statham and Ian Warwick
The purpose of the paper is to consider the opportunities and difficulties in developing health‐promotion work in early years settings in the UK.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to consider the opportunities and difficulties in developing health‐promotion work in early years settings in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
As the first study of its kind conducted in the UK, a multi‐method approach was adopted involving: an overview of health‐related guidance and of effective interventions in early years settings to promote health among young children; 26 interviews with key informants in the early years and health fields, regional coordinators for the National Healthy Schools Programme (NHSP) and Foundation Stage regional advisers; a survey of 145 local Healthy Schools Programme coordinators with a response rate of 75 per cent; and six case studies of early years settings representing promising practice in the promotion of health and wellbeing.
Findings
There is considerable enthusiasm for health promotion work within early years organisations, and interest in developing such work in early years settings. The study suggests that building on existing early years curriculum frameworks, developing partnerships between health and early years professionals, engaging both parents and practitioners, and adequate national and local resourcing will facilitate development of health promoting work in the early years sector.
Practical implications
This paper and the outputs from the study offer useful evidence for health and early years professionals who are developing health‐promoting work in early years settings.
Originality/value
The paper reports on the first study of its kind in which the perceptions of both early years and health professionals are brought together to consider the issues involved in developing healthy early years practice.
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The ever‐increasing diversity in family forms has provoked concerns in the UK about the instability of family life in the 21st century and promoted a plethora of policy…
Abstract
The ever‐increasing diversity in family forms has provoked concerns in the UK about the instability of family life in the 21st century and promoted a plethora of policy initiatives aimed at strengthening families and supporting parents. This article explores the changes and continuities in family life and the implications for parenting and family policy. It argues that despite the immense diversity of family relationships, there is an enduring attachment to family ties and commitment. Understanding the inter‐relationships between risk and protective factors and how resilience may be fostered is critical, therefore, to the development of policies that can support families at times of stress.
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Nicole Elizabeth Hellyer, Iain Fraser and Janet Haddock-Fraser
The purpose of this paper is to establish implicit consumer attitudes towards whole grain foods, following criticisms of explicit enquiries revealing an attitude-behaviour gap…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish implicit consumer attitudes towards whole grain foods, following criticisms of explicit enquiries revealing an attitude-behaviour gap. For products considered to have social desirability (e.g. ethical and “health” products) bias may be observed, as respondents may provide responses that present them in a positive light, rather than those reflecting their actual attitudes, intentions or behaviours.
Design/methodology/approach
The research employed an indirect measure, the shopping list method, analysed quantitatively in this case using factor analysis and regression, to examine the impression respondents form of whole grain consumers, using three discrete shopping lists and two discrete cover letters. Following a pilot survey to 79 people using Snowball sampling, the survey instrument was distributed to 3,000 UK households using a purchased mailing list.
Findings
The findings demonstrated that respondents considered whole grain consumers to exhibit positive attributes of respectability and self-efficacy compared to their counterparts. These findings countered the negative, product attribute-based views of respondents when queried explicitly about their attitudes to whole grain foods.
Originality/value
The research provides an original perspective on whole grain consumer attitudes, using a methodology which – whilst well-established – has been used less frequently in a quantitative manner. It provides particular value to food retailers and manufacturers looking to promote whole grain products, but also to policy makers seeking to change consumption habits towards whole grains – which have established health benefits compared to refined alternatives.
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– The purpose of this paper is to highlight work with older people being undertaken by public libraries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight work with older people being undertaken by public libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on responses from libraries working with older people, outlining their approaches, and also on the report, “Library services for older people – good practice guide”.
Findings
There is a large and varied programme of work being delivered by public libraries and their partner organisations. However, much of it is “under the radar”, so, when spending cuts are made, the knock-on effects are often not recognised.
Practical implications
Highlights examples of work that other library services could replicate. Also highlights work that potential partner organisations may not know about, and therefore can use this paper as a “way in” to libraries. Stresses the importance of recognising the wide range of people under the umbrella term, “older people”.
Social implications
This paper aims to draw attention to a key area of work which may not be well known outside libraries themselves, with the potential to bring other partners and funders on board.
Originality/value
The paper draws together examples of different initiatives developed by public libraries, all of which have an enormous impact on the older people (and their families) involved.
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Andrew J. Hobson, Linda J. Searby, Lorraine Harrison and Pam Firth
Josephine May and Helen Proctor
The first state high schools in New South Wales (NSW) were restricted to children with high academic ability. The purpose of this paper is to explore the lived experience of over…
Abstract
Purpose
The first state high schools in New South Wales (NSW) were restricted to children with high academic ability. The purpose of this paper is to explore the lived experience of over 70 former students from three such schools, one coeducational, the other two single‐sex, with special attention to academic and social curricula.
Design/methodology/approach
The study investigates memories of a particular moment in the history of secondary schooling in NSW before the establishment of mass secondary education. The authors utilise theoretical concepts from recent oral history studies regarding memory communities and intersectionality.
Findings
In bringing ex‐students’ memories of both single‐sex and coeducational academically‐selective high schooling together, the study reports on the homogeneity of the memories of this type of schooling despite the different sexual structures of the schools. The respondents, it is argued, constitute a “memory community” in that they recalled their selection for high school as marking them out as intellectually superior, “special”. Their main differentiating feature arose from their sex and gender socialisation. Females were made more consistently conscious of their responsibilities within their schools’ gender regime.
Originality/value
The approach in this paper adjusts the focus of traditional oral history research in the history of education to “history from within” (rather than “from below”); to experiences of both academic and socialcurriculum (not “formal/informal”); to a gendered approach incorporating both sexes; and to a comparative approach across academically‐selective coeducational and single‐sex high schools.
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Ask a manager what she/he does. She/he will probably tell you about functions or processes such as planning, organising, budgeting, and controlling (Fayol 1949).
While there is burgeoning service literature identifying consumer vulnerabilities and questioning the assumption that all consumers have the resources to co-create, limited…
Abstract
Purpose
While there is burgeoning service literature identifying consumer vulnerabilities and questioning the assumption that all consumers have the resources to co-create, limited research addresses solutions for consumers experiencing vulnerabilities. Service systems can provide support for consumers but can also create inequities and experienced vulnerabilities. This paper aims to identify current and further research needed to explore this issue and addresses marketplace problems for consumers experiencing vulnerabilities.
Design/methodology/approach
This viewpoint discusses key issues relating to solving marketplace problems for consumers experiencing vulnerabilities. A call for papers focused on solving marketplace problems for consumers experiencing vulnerabilities resulted in a large number of submissions. Nine papers are included in this special issue, and each one is discussed in this editorial according to five emergent themes.
Findings
Vulnerabilities can be temporary, or permanent, and anyone can suddenly experience vulnerabilities. Inequities and vulnerabilities can be due to individual characteristics, environmental forces, or due to the structure of the marketplace itself. Solutions include taking a strengths-based approach to addressing inequities and using a multiple-actor network to provide support.
Practical implications
The recommendations addressed in this paper enable more positive approaches to solving marketplace problems for consumers experiencing vulnerabilities.
Social implications
Taking a solutions-focused lens to research relating to vulnerabilities will contribute toward addressing inequities within the marketplace.
Originality/value
Increasingly, service literature is identifying inequities; however, very limited research addresses solutions for solving marketplace problems for consumers experiencing vulnerabilities. This paper suggests taking an approach focusing on strengths, rather than weaknesses, to determine strategies, and using the support of other actors (Transformative Service Mediators) where required.
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Nina K. Stephenson and Linda St. Clair
Reference librarians in today's academic libraries are typically confronted with a growing array of simultaneous demands. Strained financial resources, staffing shortages, the…
Abstract
Reference librarians in today's academic libraries are typically confronted with a growing array of simultaneous demands. Strained financial resources, staffing shortages, the challenge of adding new services, the explosion of information, and the electronic revolution have complicated (and sometimes compromised) the delivery of quality services. In response to many universities' growing commitment to offer nontraditional degree programs, reference staff are also assuming more responsibility for night and weekend instruction.
The literature available on how communities deal with mass death, in particular body handling procedures, is sparse. Describes the actions of the various people involved in the…
Abstract
The literature available on how communities deal with mass death, in particular body handling procedures, is sparse. Describes the actions of the various people involved in the immediate aftermath of the Halifax (Nova Scotia) 1917 explosion. Also, but in less detail, examples the Rapid City flood, the Gander air crash, the Zeebrugge ferry disaster, the Tangsham earthquake, the Texas City explosion and the Kobe earthquake. Highlights the problems of handling bodies after a mass fatality incident: respect accorded to the dead individual; whether skilled individuals are there to take on the tasks, the tagging and identification procedures required and the setting up of temporary morgue facilities.
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