Search results

The purpose of this study is to explore the psychosocial aspects of palliative care provision for incarcerated persons drawing on a human rights perspective.

Seven databases were searched to identify empirical studies published from 2010 to 2020. Articles included were qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, written in English and with westernised health/prison settings, with a key focus on the psychosocial aspects of palliative care provision and human rights. The quality of the articles was appraised using the Mixed Methods Assessment Tool (2018).

The results from 26 articles revealed multiple models of care, with the US prison hospice program depicted as optimal, because of the use of trained incarcerated caregivers, working as aides to the interprofessional team. The bereavement needs of caregivers were highlighted. The barriers to adequate psychosocial care were negative public discourse, prison processes and resources, provider attitudes and the incarcerated person’s level of knowledge and trust. Identified facilitators were related to incarcerated persons’ caregiving programs, a sense of purpose and visitation leniency. Human rights principles were identified in studies that featured compassionate release and advance care planning.

There is inconsistency in the literature regarding what constitutes psychosocial care, which meant that the authors needed to draw on multiple literature sources to formulate a definition. Additionally, the review only included studies written in English, meaning some high-quality studies could have been missed. The articles that conducted interviews with incarcerated individuals were undertaken in male prisons only and not female prisons.

Understanding the importance of psychosocial care for incarcerated persons with a life-limiting illness requires a shift in negative public discourse and the need for a stronger human rights focus. Some countries, such as the USA and UK, are achieving effective outcomes; however, countries such as Australia are yet to contribute to this knowledge base.

If palliative care is a human right, then its philosophy should be considered in its entirety, with the inclusion of psychosocial care.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in enormous challenges, but also presented opportunities that have notable implications for the future. The aim of this paper is to explore and discuss the experiences, perspectives, challenges and opportunities of Library and Information Science Educators (LISE) during the pandemic. The aim is articulated in the following three research questions: How is the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by LISE and in research? What are the perceptions formed during the period? And what are the challenges and opportunities?

This is an interpretivist qualitative study informed by disaster management theories. The study involved the content analysis of existing literature with a focus on COVID-19 and higher education, particularly LISE, in conjunction with an open-ended email questionnaire that was sent to selected LIS educators/faculty/staff from major LIS Schools from eight sub-Saharan African countries. The author used personal experiences and observation to supplement the data and the interpretation.

Results show more similarities than differences in how the COVID-19 pandemic is experienced and perceived, as well as the challenges and opportunities that it brings to the sector. As a whole, political factors are most pronounced, meaning that administration and decision-making need more attention in the sector. Also notable is that opportunities are mostly linked to technological factors, which will determine the “new normal” for LISE in the future. Almost all the narratives focused on the middle level of (during) the disaster life cycle, which is understandable as the complete cycle of the disaster is yet to come, likely when COVID-19 ceases to be a threat.

The sample was small, as related studies focus more on COVID-19 and higher education, with hardly any focusing on LISE. The COVID-19 pandemic has not ended, so the disaster management life cycle cannot be fully exploited. Furthermore, the author’s categorization of responses within PEST was largely judgmental.

New research, teaching and learning developmental paths have been created for LISE. The study provides practical reflection on the effects of COVID-19 on the sector and HEIs that can inform discourse and responses to the pandemic.

The study explores a new research domain in LISE and due to limited research in the domain brings together important voices/narratives – based on their experiences – of LIS educators in Africa on the research area. Further, it proposes the future of LISE under COVID-19 within the 4IR framework.

The purpose of this paper is to seek a deeper understanding of presenteeism by utilising the perspective of job crafting to explore how a selected group of physicians make sense of their decision to attend work while ill and of their experience of doing so. Job crafting implies that employees not only respond to their job description, but also proactively change tasks, relationships and perceptions in order to experience work in meaningful ways.

A narrative methodological framework involving interviews was adopted to explore the ways in which a selected group of 20 Norwegian hospital physicians engaged in job crafting during presenteeism. The resulting data were analysed using theory-led thematic analysis utilizing the theoretical perspective of job crafting.

It was evident that physicians were indecisive and insecure when evaluating their own illness, and that, via task, relational and cognitive crafting, they trivialised, endured and showcased their illness, and engaged in presenteeism in various ways. Furthermore, physicians to some extent found themselves caught in dysfunctional circles by contributing to the creation of a work environment where presenteeism was maintained and seen as expected.

Future research should address a wider range of contexts, and use longitudinal methods to explore the multifaceted, context-specific and evolving nature of presenteeism and job crafting in more depth. Interventions aimed at countering the negative implications of presenteeism should address the issue from both a social and a systemic point of view.

The findings extend the current understanding of presenteeism by demonstrating the multifaceted and evolving nature of the ways in which personal illness and presenteeism are perceived and enacted over time.

As demand for access to colleges and universities prompts higher education systems for creative and efficient solutions, we examine technology-centric approaches to education delivery and their implications for policy, student outcomes, and resource allocation. Our work is framed by Kingdon’s adapted multiple streams theory of national policymaking. However, the real elephant in the room may be the skyrocketing costs of administration that may need wrangling before resources can be directed to the future potential savings obtained through developing infrastructure for, and delivery of, tech-centric teaching approaches. We provide examples and strategies, policy implications, and recommendations for research and practice.

Progress in Europe between 1973 and 1978 is reviewed mainly in the context of the LIBER Seminar on International Interlibrary Lending held in Florence in 1978. The Danish interlending system is considered separately. Attention is given to a theoretical on‐line system in Belgium and actual on‐line methods in the USA and recent articles from the USA, especially on the National Periodicals Center, are presented. Articles on developments in Scotland, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand are reviewed. Finally payment for loans and the effects of copyright legislation are considered.

State policies have played a significant role in shaping the structure of agrarian economy in both advanced and under‐developed capitalist societies.(1) The influence of the state over the rural sector is not simply confined to its agricultural policies but covers a large array of policies and actions that may have direct as well as indirect effects on the rural population. This paper deals with the factors that influence agricultural policies of the state in the specific case of state policies towards Oriental tobacco production in Turkey.

Enterprise and the enterprise culture are regularly referred to in everyday conversation but the term enterprise has a variety of meanings. In its broadest sense enterprise refers to a set of attributes, skills and behaviours which may be demonstrated by an individual. In its narrowest sense it is used synonymously with small business founding and management. In general, enterprising people take bold steps in setting up and managing projects and they require certain knowledge, skills and personal qualities if they are to be considered competent in this context.

Few issues in recent times have so provoked debate and dissention within the library field as has the concept of fees for user services. The issue has aroused the passions of our profession precisely because its roots and implications extend far beyond the confines of just one service discipline. Its reflection is mirrored in national debates about the proper spheres of the public and private sectors—in matters of information generation and distribution, certainly, but in a host of other social ramifications as well, amounting virtually to a debate about the most basic values which we have long assumed to constitute the very framework of our democratic and humanistic society.