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1 – 10 of over 3000
Article
Publication date: 17 June 2013

Anne-Laure Donskoy and Rosemarie Stevens

The purpose of this paper is to present some results of a qualitative study exploring people's memories of the pathways to the first episode of self-wounding. Specifically it will…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present some results of a qualitative study exploring people's memories of the pathways to the first episode of self-wounding. Specifically it will focus on the issue of “suicidality”.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 11 participants, aged between 19 and 50, were described. They were asked to describe their first episode of self-wounding. The interviews were conducted using a semi-structured topic guide. An initial thematic and a subsequent narrative analysis were used to explore the participants’ stories.

Findings

The narratives of self-wounding show that the first episode occurs in a complex landscape of interactions between events and emotions. Even when participants were aware of suicidal feelings before self-wounding, the suicidal intention was abandoned as the self-wounding was shown to be an effective method for dealing with distress. For most of the participants the self-wounding was not associated with suicidality but with a strong need to gain or regain control of an emotionally charged and chaotic environment.

Practical implications

Focusing on the first episode of self-harm holds the key to a better appreciation of the underlying meanings of self-wounding as a complex and dynamic experience. It can provide health care practitioners with a new direction to understanding people's individual motivations rather than focusing relying on behaviour generalised assumptions.

Originality/value

This study provides a rare insight into the first episode of self-harm as a unique event. It is also a rare example of publicly funded service-user research with a focus on issues which are meaningful to them.

Details

Ethnicity and Inequalities in Health and Social Care, vol. 6 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-0980

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 31 October 2023

Daniel B. Klein

In Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith reasons about how a change in one thing, A, is attended by a change in another thing, B. In expounding on such bivariate relationships…

Abstract

In Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith reasons about how a change in one thing, A, is attended by a change in another thing, B. In expounding on such bivariate relationships, Smith sometimes seems to go out of his way to posit a state of the world in which the relationship would break down. That feature suggests an irony about knowing how a change in B attends a change in A. We might think we understand the bivariate relationship, but it holds only for certain states of the world. The relationship is circumstanced. The more one studies the Moral Sentiments, the more one realizes that circumstantiality suffuses its teachings. My discussion arrives at a place of doubt about the most important bivariate relationship – that between approval from our conscience and doing good. Smith seems to suggest, particularly at the end of his life, that a person can best know the relationship between his conscience’s approval and his doing good under circumstances of his having frank and open friendships. The implication for politics is that we want that kind of government that best conduces to frank and open friendships.

Details

Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology: Including a Symposium on Religion, the Scottish Enlightenment, and the Rise of Liberalism
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83549-517-9

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 October 2010

Andrew Day

This paper aims to describe how organisation coaches can work at relational depth with their clients by exploring the unconscious relational dynamics of the coaching relationship…

1745

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to describe how organisation coaches can work at relational depth with their clients by exploring the unconscious relational dynamics of the coaching relationship and their links to unconscious dynamics in the client's organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on relational psychoanalytic theory of the individual and system psychodynamic theories of organisations to argue that unconscious dynamics that emerge between the coach and client can be understood as: a complex unconscious interaction between how the client and coach organise their relationships; a repetition of how the client participates in unconscious organisation dynamics; and shaping the coach's subjective experience in the work, including their emotional and embodied responses to the client. These propositions are explored through an in‐depth qualitative case study of the author's work with a client.

Findings

The case illustrates how unconscious organisation dynamics shaped the client's experience of his role, evoking in him feelings of powerlessness and anger. The coach initially identified with these feelings because of his own relational past. As a result, the relationship became stuck in a repetitive dynamic which could be understood as an expression of the stuck dynamics in the organisation around the unconscious management of anxieties within its management structures. A shift in the coaching relationship was brought about through the coach's disclosure of his own experience and naming of feelings and emotions that were previously implicit and out of awareness in the coaching relationship. The subsequent exploration of the dynamics of the coaching relationship helped the client to understand at a deeper level his struggle in the organisation and to take up a different position in the organisation dynamics. The case study highlights how the dynamics of the coaching relationship can be understood as a repetition of unconscious processes by the client in the organisation.

Practical implications

The paper highlights how coaches can understand and work with unconscious dynamics in the coaching relationship. This requires coaches not only to be self‐aware, but also to possess the emotional maturity and confidence to work with difficult emotional material.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates how psychoanalytic theory of individuals and organisations can be integrated into a relational approach to coaching which facilitates the exploration of the client's experience of their work in an organisation context.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 29 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 March 2014

Susan Ridley

This qualitative study was an exploration on the process of self-reflection on identity. The purpose of this paper is to see how mirrors could be used as a therapeutic tool and a…

Abstract

Purpose

This qualitative study was an exploration on the process of self-reflection on identity. The purpose of this paper is to see how mirrors could be used as a therapeutic tool and a meta-physical bridge to one's inner consciousness.

Design/methodology/approach

An intergenerational expressive arts group (n=12) was organized around the question of identity. Following an open-discussion around the topic of identity, participants were asked to decorate a mirror with words, images, and/or symbols while reflecting on the question, “Who am I?” A post-session interview was conducted regarding participant's experiences during the creative process.

Findings

The results indicated that mirrors can be used to connect to one's inner thoughts and feelings on the question of identity. Three core themes in the process of self-reflection on identity were revealed which included introspection and self-concern, connection and attachment to something or someone other than self, and taking action to help others.

Research limitations/implications

This study was limited not only in size, but also in cultural diversity and disparity of age range. Although this study was limited, it provided a useful indicator for identifying core themes in the process of self-reflection on identity.

Originality/value

While there have been no studies on the therapeutic use of mirrors as a tool for self-reflection and limited intergenerational studies with pre-adolescent and adolescent students and older adults, results from this study will add to the body of expressive arts literature by providing a new metaphor for mirrors as a therapeutic tool for self-reflection on identity.

Details

Working with Older People, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-3666

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 October 2008

Steve Hiller, Martha Kyrillidou and Jim Self

The purpose of this study is to report on the findings of the two‐year Association of Research Libraries (ARL) sponsored project, “Making Library Assessment Work: Practical…

1675

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to report on the findings of the two‐year Association of Research Libraries (ARL) sponsored project, “Making Library Assessment Work: Practical Approaches to Effective and Sustainable Assessment,”; it aims to examine the organizational factors that facilitate and impede effective data use and the implications for assessment in research libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

Information was gathered from a variety of sources, including: a self‐evaluation of assessment activities and needs done by each of the 24 participating libraries; extensive discussion with a designated contact at each library; a review of library and institutional sources such as annual reports, strategic plans, accreditation self‐studies, ARL and IPEDS statistics; and the observations and discussion that occurred during 1.5 day site visits.

Findings

The paper finds that libraries surveyed have made some progress incorporating data in decision making and services improvement, but there is much work to be done.

Originality/value

This is not an evidence‐based practice study but rather one that examines why evidence (the data on which a decision may be based) is not used more widely in libraries.

Details

Performance Measurement and Metrics, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-8047

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Comprehensive Strategic Management
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-225-1

Article
Publication date: 21 September 2012

Robert Bogue

The purpose of this paper is to provide details of a number of collaborative European projects which seek to improve the performance and capabilities of industrial manufacturing…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide details of a number of collaborative European projects which seek to improve the performance and capabilities of industrial manufacturing and assembly systems.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a short introduction, this paper discusses a selection of current, collaborative European projects involving the development of advanced manufacturing and assembly technologies.

Findings

This shows that the EU is actively supporting the development of advanced technologies to improve the competitiveness of the region's manufacturing and assembly industries. This is being conducted through a series of collaborative R&D projects.

Originality/value

The paper provides details of six current European projects involving advanced manufacturing and assembly methods.

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2006

Steve Hiller, Martha Kyrillidou and Jim Self

This paper aims to report on the first phase of a two‐year project sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries, “Making Library Assessment Work: Practical Approaches for…

755

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to report on the first phase of a two‐year project sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries, “Making Library Assessment Work: Practical Approaches for Developing and Sustaining Effective Assessment”.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reports on the project, which is intended to provide libraries with the knowledge and understanding necessary to select and apply appropriate measurement techniques, and to use assessment data in decision making. The focus of this effort is on practical and sustainable approaches to effective assessment. The paper is particularly interested in the successful application of assessment within different organizational cultures and moving library assessment from a project‐based approach to a more programmatic, integrated, and sustainable operation within libraries.

Findings

The findings of the study indicate that all the ARL libraries in Phase I are developing a stronger understanding of the value of assessment and library leadership supports this movement. It finds that there are staff in each library who have good research methodology skills, although they may not be involved in assessment efforts. It reveals that areas that did not receive a passing grade in most libraries included resource allocation, sustainability, prioritizing needs, choosing the appropriate assessment method, using data for improvement, and communicating assessment results.

Originality/value

The paper provides useful information on a project intended to help librarians in decision making.

Details

Performance Measurement and Metrics, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-8047

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 December 2010

Andy Brooker

The author provides a personal perspective on personality disorder, based on his involvement with Borderline UK and Personality Plus. This is based on a presentation originally…

Abstract

The author provides a personal perspective on personality disorder, based on his involvement with Borderline UK and Personality Plus. This is based on a presentation originally made at the First National Personality Disorder Congress.

Details

Mental Health Review Journal, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-9322

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 November 2016

Tsung-Yi Chen, Meng-Che Tsai and Yuh-Min Chen

For an enterprise, it is essential to win as many customers as possible. The key to successfully winning customers is often determined by understanding the personality…

1738

Abstract

Purpose

For an enterprise, it is essential to win as many customers as possible. The key to successfully winning customers is often determined by understanding the personality characteristics of the object of communication in order to employ an effective communication strategy. An enterprise needs to obtain the personality information of target or potential customers. However, the traditional method for personality evaluation is extremely costly in terms of time and labor, and it cannot acquire customer personality information without their awareness. Therefore, the manner in which to effectively conduct automated personality predictions for a large number of objects is an important issue. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The diverse social media that have emerged in recent years represent a digital platform on which users can publicly deliver speeches and interact with others. Thus, social media may be able to serve the needs of automated personality predictions. Based on user data of Facebook, the main social media platform around the world, this research developed a method for predicting personality types based on interaction logs.

Findings

Experimental results show that the Naïve Bayes classification algorithm combined with a feature selection algorithm produces the best performance for predicting personality types, with 70-80 percent accuracy.

Research limitations/implications

In this research, the dominance, inducement, submission, and compliance (DISC) theory was used to determine personality types. Some specific limitations were encountered. As Facebook was used as the main data source, it was necessary to obtain related data via Facebook’s API (FB API). However, the data types accessible via FB API are very limited.

Practical implications

This research serves to build a universal model for social media interaction, and can be used to propose an efficient method for designing interaction features.

Originality/value

This research has developed an approach for automatically predicting the personality types of network users based on their Facebook interactions.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 40 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

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