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Stigma by association occurs when members affiliated with a marginalized group become discredited themselves. The purpose of this paper is to explore associative stigma among mental health (MH) clinicians working with individuals diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI).

In total, 47 eligible service providers completed an online qualitative study, with open-ended questions about areas touching on associative stigma such as assumptions about the MH profession, personal experiences of work-related stigma, and ways of coping.

The data revealed that MH clinicians commonly endorse experiences of associative stigma. The following themes were derived: experiences of stigma in describing the profession to others, media portrayal of MH professionals, assumptions about the field, ascriptions of personal characteristics, job devaluation, means of coping with associative stigma, and impact of associative stigma on work on clients.

This is the first qualitative study to examine the phenomenon of associative stigma with MH clinicians. This study suggests that MH providers working with people with SMI do encounter associative stigma when discussing their profession with community members. Professionals discussed encountering the stereotype that the work that they do is dangerous, that it is something “unwanted” and that it does not require much skill but could be done by anyone. Associative stigma could be an important component in the understanding of factors related to professional burnout.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of process improvement team member perceptions regarding the effectiveness of asynchronous e‐collaboration.

A field‐based, two‐phase canonical action research study was conducted at two different sites. Data were obtained from observations and interviews of all team members. Media synchronicity theory was utilized to hypothesize the interplay of media capabilities, task communication processes, and team functions.

Eight primarily virtual teams solved complex problems and provided feedback on the effectiveness of various communications media. The results support media synchronicity theory.

Media synchronicity theory provides an alternative explanation for studies both supporting and contradicting media richness theory. The teams in this study were newly formed. Further investigation of established teams and other contexts is warranted.

For complex problem‐solving tasks performed by newly formed teams, communications media with low synchronicity (e.g. listserv, e‐mail, bulletin board) may be appropriate for conveyance of information; whereas media with high synchronicity (e.g. face‐to‐face, telephone) may be more desirable for convergence on shared meaning.

As geographic, temporal, and cost constraints move organizations toward virtual team work for increasingly complex tasks, research is warranted on effective utilization of available communication technology for solving business problems without face‐to‐face communication. This research paper examines the issue through an emerging theoretical lens, media synchronicity theory, and suggests a new proposition.

Educating students with disabilities in the same classrooms and instructional environments as their natural neighbors and peers (i.e., inclusion) is a promise of significant substance and value for many special educators. When federal legislation mandated that students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate education in least restrictive environments, at least in principle, the schoolhouse doors were opened for all students. In this chapter, we provide a brief historical review of efforts to educate students with disabilities in inclusive environments and provide direction for what we believe are important practices for creating high-quality inclusive learning environments.

Alternative education settings (AES; i.e., self-contained alternative schools, therapeutic day treatment and residential schools, and juvenile corrections schools) serve youth with complicated and often serious academic and behavioral needs. The use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and practices with Best Available Evidence are necessary to increase the likelihood of long-term success for these youth. In this chapter, we define three primary categories of AES and review what we know about the characteristics of youth in these schools. Next, we discuss the current emphasis on identifying and implementing EBPs with regard to both academic interventions (i.e., reading and mathematics) and interventions addressing student behavior. In particular, we consider implementation in AES, where there are often high percentages of youth requiring special education services and who have a significant need for EBPs to succeed academically, behaviorally, and in their transition to adulthood. We focus our discussion on: (a) examining approaches to identifying EBPs; (b) providing a brief review of EBPs and Best Available Evidence in the areas of mathematics, reading, and interventions addressing student behavior for youth in AES; (c) delineating key implementation challenges in AES; and (d) providing recommendations for how to facilitate the use of EBPs in AES.

In recent years, organisations around the world have been seriously affected by a range of economic, political and social upheavals that have gathered momentum in most parts of the globe. The viability of the conventional (pyramidal) organisational structures is being challenged in conjunction with major shifts in the roles of mid and top managers. In many countries, the pace of the above socio‐economic events and uncertainties is happening at an unprecedented pace. Some markets are showing signs of potential gigantic expansions while others (historically prosperous) are on the verge of complete collapse (Dent, 1991). In responding to the socio‐economic challenges of the nineties, organisations (across the board) have resorted to dismantling the conventional pyramidal structure and adopting so‐called “leaner” structures (see Zeffane, 1992). The most common struggle has been to maintain market share in an economic environment increasingly characterised by excess labour supply (Bamber, 1990; Green & Macdonald, 1991). As organisations shifted their strategies from “mass production” to “post‐fordism” (see, for example Kern and Schumann, 1987), there has been a significant tendency to emphasise flexibility of both capital and labour in order to cater for the niche markets which are claimed to be rapidly emerging, world‐wide. This has resulted in massive organisational restructuring world‐wide.

This chapter provides an analysis of images produced and employed in protests against surveillance in Germany in 2008 and 2009. For this purpose, a method of visual analysis is developed that draws mainly on semiotics and art history. Following this method, the contribution examines a selection of images (pictures and graphic design) from the anti-surveillance protests in three steps: description of components, detection of conventional signs, and contextual analysis. Furthermore, the analysis compares the images of the two major currents of the protest (liberal and radical left) in order to elucidate the context in which images are created and used. The analysis shows that images do not merely illustrate existing political messages but contribute to movements’ systems of meaning creation and transportation. The two currents in the protests communicate their point of view through the images both strategically and expressively. The images play a crucial role in formulating groups’ different strategies as well as worldviews and identities. In addition, the analysis shows that the meaning of images is contested and contextual. Images are produced and received in specific national as well as issue contexts. Future research should address the issue of context and reception in greater depth in order to further explore the effects of visual language on mobilization. Overall, the contribution demonstrates that systematic visual analysis allows our understanding of social movements’ aims, strategy, and collective identity to be deepened. In addition, visual analysis may provide activists with a tool to critically assess their visual communication.

The development of policy and delivery of interventions in the connected fields of alcohol and criminal justice is a complex area with implications for the single and joined‐up work of a range of agencies working across health, criminal justice and local government. This paper provides an overview of some of the connected health and criminal justice policy challenges relating to the commissioning and delivery of alcohol services for offenders.