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Increased worldwide competition has driven industry to find ever faster and more accurate techniques for product inspection. Although developed only recently, noncontact laser gauging systems (NCLGSs) are quickly becoming an accepted technology for manufacturing, in particular for large volume producers of wire who require online diameter measurement. This paper describes the major components of an NCLGS and how its technology enables manufacturers to incorporate extremely accurate online product measurement. The paper also describes the benefits and issues for concern associated with use of this new technology.

Numerous studies have shown that community service during adolescence is associated with positive youth outcomes and future civic engagement (Reinders and Youniss, 2006; Yates and Youniss, 1996). However, less is known about the ways in which students participate in and perceive intermittent, noncurricular community service. The purpose of this study is to examine seventh and eighth grade students' (N = 22) experiences during a common school-wide community service event: the canned food drive.

Data include students' journal responses to questions about the food drive including their feelings about the event, learning that took place, positive parts of the drive and challenges. An inductive qualitative analysis was used.

Analysis of students' responses revealed that most students perceived themselves and their classmates as being very helpful to the community and described feeling happiness and pride from the event, even when participation was minimal or nonexistent. While some students reported awareness of poverty and inequality after the food drive, many of their comments about those receiving the donations included deficit-oriented terminology and cognitive distancing by positioning those experiencing food insecurity as “the other” and different from themselves.

Findings highlight the benefits and shortcomings of community service, as class biases and surface-level ideas about helping may be unintentionally reinforced. Recommendations to address these issues are discussed.

Given the prevalence of community service in schools, qualitative research is needed to understand firsthand how students experience these events.

This research considers the potential for renewable energy partnerships to contribute to Canada's efforts to overcome its colonial past and present by developing an understanding of how non-Indigenous peoples working in the sector relate to their Indigenous partners.

This study is part of a larger research program focused on decolonization and reconciliation in the renewable energy sector. This exploratory research is framed by energy justice and decolonial reconciliation literatures relevant to the topic of Indigenous-led renewable energy. The authors used content and discourse analysis to identify themes arising from 10 semi-structured interviews with non-Indigenous corporate and governmental partners.

Interviewees’ lack of prior exposure to Indigenous histories, cultures and acknowledgement of settler colonialism had a profound impact on their engagement with reconciliation frameworks. Partners' perspectives on what it means to partner with Indigenous peoples varied; most dismissed the need to further develop understandings of reconciliation and instead focused on increasing community capacity to allow Indigenous groups to participate in the renewable energy transition.

In this study, the authors intentionally spoke with non-Indigenous peoples working in the renewable energy sector. Recruitment was a challenge and the sample is small. The authors encourage researchers to extend their questions to other organizations in the renewable energy sector, across industries and with Indigenous peoples given this is an under-researched field.

This paper is an early look at the way non-Indigenous “partners” working in renewable energy understand and relate to topics of reconciliation, Indigenous rights and self-determination. It highlights potential barriers to reconciliation that are naïvely occurring at organizational and institutional levels, while anchored in colonial power structures.

John Paul II’s encyclical, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, written 20 years after Paul VI’s encyclical Populorum Progressio on development, reiterates principles of that letter and addresses the need to go beyond a purely economic concept of development to promote authentic human development for persons and society. Continuing problems on the world scene have led to questions about the adequacy of traditional economic development theories/strategies and policies of international organizations, if the goal is to improve the condition of humanity and not only achieve certain macroeconomic standards of growth. The peoples of developing countries experience obstacles to human progress because of the structures and policies of their governments, and because of their dependence on decisions made by industrialized nations. John Paul II’s systemic approach to social concerns is effective in questioning the values underlying current policies and operations, and in presenting an alternative, more complete concept of development for the world to consider.

A close reading of the Gospels of The New Testament reveal that the various authors were clearly aware of certain key principles of marketing and advertising which we have rediscovered in the twentieth century. Specifically, the pros and cons of “global” vs. “local” marketing and copywriting were understood and the authors made conscious choices to cater to various target markets. In addition, the basic techniques of public relations and lobbying were clearly understood and consciously applied. The examples presented are not isolated analogies quoted out of context; the various authors clearly comprehended the basic principles of marketing and overtly orchestrated them in thoughtful and coherent ways. A study of The New Testament, therefore, reveals the significant degree to which ancient people were aware of advertising and marketing techniques. How marketing, as a discipline, can help other scholars interpret the events they study is described.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the formulation and psychological treatment of a complex case whereby a combination of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) has resulted in violent and aggressive behaviour.

This paper provides a brief summary of literature in relation to ASD, OCD and risk-offending behaviour followed by a case study of a man (referred to as “John”) with a diagnosis of ASD and OCD who has an extensive history of institutional violence and aggressive behaviour.

This paper highlights the complexity of a case that may support research suggesting that impaired theory of mind, poor emotional regulation and problems with moral reasoning increase the risk of an individual with ASD engaging in violence, in addition to a comorbidity of ASD and OCD resulting in a more severe and treatment-resistant form of OCD.

This paper highlights the challenges faced when working with a patient with Asperger’s syndrome and OCD with entrenched beliefs that lead to the use of violence as a compulsion to temporarily overcome unpleasant thoughts related to low self-esteem.

When the Catholic bishops of the United States prepared the first draft of their pastoral letter on the US economy, they deliberately kept its contents confidential until after the presidential election of that year. They did not want it to intrude upon the campaign then under way. It was not made public until 11 November, 1984. The Lay Commission, chaired by William E. Simon, issued its document, Toward the Future: Catholic Social Thought and the US Economy, before the bishops' first draft but also after the presidential election. It was not a response to the bishops' then unseen document but an advisory counter‐proposal from a different perspective. The Lay Commission presumed that the two documents would be different certainly in the area of policy recommendations and in the evaluation of the performance of the American economy; they probably anticipated differences also in the understanding of Christian and Catholic tradition and principles. They were not wrong.

Social policy and professional practice across the island of Ireland is dominated by the WHO definition of elder abuse and national and professional interpretations of what constitutes elder abuse. Top-down, generalist knowledge of the abuse of older people have facilitated paternalistic and protectionist policies and services designed to protect older vulnerable adults across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. However, a qualitative study involving 58 older people in six focus groups held across Ireland highlights an alternative understanding of elder abuse grounded in the subjective experiences of older people across urban and rural communities on the island. Indigenous ways of knowing offer a broader and more inclusive understanding of the experience of elder abuse (Lafferty et al., 2012; Dow and Joosten, 2012) together with opportunities for the prevention of ageism and the empowering of older people across the jurisdictions.

A description of how elder abuse is defined at the global and national level is then compared with the findings of an all-Ireland study of older people's older conceptualisation of elder abuse (Begley et al., 2012) at the local level.

Understanding indigenous perceptions of elder abuse has significant implications for the delivery of cultural relevant social policy and professional practice across Ireland.

Given the exploratory nature of this study, there are significant methodological limitations to its replication, the representativeness of the participants involved and the generalisability of the findings.

However, this study provides unique insights about how some older people conceptualised elder abuse across different cultural and political contexts across Ireland as compared with national and global definitions.

The study on older people's conceptualisation of elder abuse was the first all-Ireland attempt to contribute to the body of knowledge on indigenous perspectives on elder abuse.

A man in his 40s with alcohol use disorder, learning disability and autism was referred to the learning disability team due to anxiety and low mood. He had been abstinent from alcohol for ten years prior to a recent relapse. The purpose of this paper is to describe his case.

Treatment was person centred, followed standard practice for clients with alcohol use disorder and targeted harm minimisation. Initially, alcohol consumption reduced; however, at month three, he relapsed. Thereafter, he was repeatedly admitted to inpatient settings, drank excessively and engaged in risky behaviours.

Conventional approaches to treating alcohol dependence may not be entirely appropriate for this client group. The client’s alcohol consumption was only curtailed with the use of restrictions to his liberty agreed by him and incorporated into his tenancy agreement.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to discuss issues pertaining to people with co-occurring learning disability, autism and alcohol dependence. The authors discuss the use of restrictions, reasonable adjustments and policy issues relevant to treating this complex client group.

Sustainability initiatives are important considerations for twenty-first century institutions. Employees, customers and other stakeholders expect responsible business practices that focus on people, profit and planet in unison. Sustainability efforts require a strong advocate who can champion relevant business practices and embed new practices within the culture and across the entire organization. The purpose of this paper is to explain the tangible actions described as necessary by change agents in order to move sustainability initiatives forward in their organizations. This research employs the narrative provided by these agents in interviews – to inform the activities outlined in an established model of political skill and reputation building. This analysis enables the model to illustrate the sequential patterns and process of events, i.e. antecedents and consequences that are simply assumed in the existing variance models.

This research is based on in-depth qualitative interviews with the sustainability managers from a variety of organization and industry contexts (e.g. building products, hospitals, banking, energy, environmental and manufacturing).

The exploration of sustainability initiatives reveals the importance of the change agent’s reputation for building trust in their organizations. Reputation is fostered through political skill and persuasion, while leveraging social capital.

The research is rich in the depth of individual-level phenomena, thereby highlighting the skills necessary to enact change within a variety of industries. However, given the limited sample size, macro-level issues cannot be addressed.

Political skill is a teachable skill that is enhanced through mentoring and coaching. Sustainability initiatives and their organizations can benefit from leveraging persons with strong reputations to facilitate change. When lacking, persons with content knowledge can be groomed to grow their reputation, network, persuasion and political skills.

Sustainability is vital to the future of our earth and humanity. Business and society would benefit from the growth of this phenomenon.

The authors aim to help change agents achieve their objectives through consideration of not just the goals, but the process as well.