Search results

The purpose of this paper is to profile the research activity, research skills and enablers of research of clinical psychologists in the Republic of Ireland.

All clinical psychologists working in the Health Service Executive (HSE) or HSE-funded organisations were requested to complete an online survey examining their research capacity. A total of 170 clinical psychologists completed the survey, with an estimated response rate of 20-25 per cent.

Within the preceding two years, 60 per cent (n=102) of the clinical psychologists sampled had engaged in research. These research active participants were involved with a median of three projects and the majority spent 10 per cent or less of their work time engaged in research. The weakest research skills of research active and research inactive participants were applying for research funding and publishing research. Research active participants indicated a reliance on their own personal motivation to maintain their research activity and indicated a need for more protected time for research.

Managers within the health service need to be incentivised to allocate protected work time for research that directly contributes to service provision. Greater collaboration with academic institutions is needed with regard to targeting the research skills development of clinical psychologists, as well as identifying opportunities for collaborative research.

This is the first survey to profile the research activity and skills of clinical psychologists in the Republic of Ireland and provides an evidence base for future research capacity development.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a brief CBT intervention within a primary care adult mental health service.

In total, 92 participants with mild to moderate mental health difficulties were provided with five sessions of brief CBT. Clinical improvement was measured using the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) at pre-treatment, mid-treatment and post-treatment, and on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) at pre-treatment and post-treatment.

The planned five sessions of CBT were completed by 48.9 percent (n=45) of participants. Treatment completers with full clinical data (n=31) showed large statistically significant improvements on the CORE-OM and BDI-II from pre-therapy to post-therapy. Of treatment completers and non-completers with post-therapy and mid-therapy CORE-OM data, respectively (n=34), 61.8 percent showed reliable and clinically significant change. No statistically significant differences were found between treatment completers (n=45) and non-completers (n=47) in their pre-therapy clinical scores or socio-demographic characteristics.

Brief CBT can be a clinically effective primary care intervention but needs to be implemented in a way that ensures high treatment engagement across a range of service users.

This paper contributes to the evidence base of a primary care psychological intervention and demonstrates the importance of assessing treatment completion when evaluating clinical effectiveness.

Regulation is increasingly being used in healthcare to influence the behaviour of healthcare organisations. Since 2006, a key change in Ireland has been the introduction of national regulatory standards in mental health services under new legislation. Little empirical evidence, however, exists on the effects of regulation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceived impact of standards at patient level as well as on professional and organisational practice in services.

An anonymous online survey methodology using a self-devised questionnaire instrument was employed. A national cohort of service managers and multi-disciplinary mental health professionals were asked their views on the introduction of standards.

A total of 185 individuals responded to the survey, yielding a response rate of 38 per cent. Substantial improvements were reported to have taken place across services with the most notable changes being improved safeguarding of patients’ rights and increased safety of care. Additionally, major changes were reported in professional working with new topics being discussed at management meetings and new functions being incorporated into certain professionals’ roles.

Standards can change behaviour at several levels across healthcare organisations, although professional groups differ in their views on the degree of this impact.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first evaluation of the impact of national regulatory standards in healthcare in Ireland. This study lends support to the use of standards to enhance patient rights and the safety of services. The results provide useful direction for policy makers, regulators, and service providers.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the levels of job satisfaction (JS) and burnout among psychologists working in Irish community mental health teams (CMHTs), and the relationships between these factors and three relational predictors: teamwork, liaison with management/supervisor and relationships among co-workers. Associations with absenteeism and participants’ turnover potential were also explored.

Participants were 77 psychologists currently working in CMHTs nationwide or who had left a CMHT in the previous three years.

Liaison with management/supervisor and teamwork emerged as significant predictors of JS but not of burnout. Relationships among co-workers emerged as a significant predictor of two dimensions of burnout. JS and burnout levels had no overall significant association with absenteeism or turnover potential.

This study confirmed that well-known associations between relational aspects of one’s job and the levels of JS and burnout were also present in this sample of psychologists, highlighting the vulnerability of these professionals to the same risks that affect workers in positions requiring comparatively lower psychological-mindedness. Service providers need to consider this important factor in their efforts to enhance productivity and prevent turnover, and it can be addressed at no extra costs by optimising the use of existing resources.

This study is one of the first to focus on relational aspects of CMHTs considering a sample of psychologists. Furthermore, while the three relational factors considered have been examined before in their individual relationships to JS and burnout, this study investigates their interactions with each other.

This study profiled the work activities, including caseloads, of psychologists in clinical training (n=51; hereafter referred to as “trainees”) in the Republic of Ireland (RoI). The purpose of this paper is to highlight the value of trainees by focusing on the effect they had on the waiting times across the services where they were on placement.

This study employed a survey design using the online survey software, Limesurvey, in order to profile the work activities of 51 trainees (response rate=47 per cent) on various placements across the RoI.

Findings suggest that the trainees work contributed in a meaningful way to their host services through their engagement in both direct and indirect clinical work.

The study relied on self-report data, some of which were estimates (e.g. waitlist lengths at placement end). Future research could employ other methods (e.g. work activity diaries) to increase reliability.

By highlighting the valuable contribution made by trainees while on placement, this study supports the continued funding of clinical training programmes in the RoI.

There are a number of impediments to consumer adoption of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), including regulatory barriers, resources, infrastructure and vehicle characteristics themselves. These impediments also impact on other stakeholders, such as government, producers (i.e. corporations), suppliers (collaborators), competition (i.e. alternative products) and activist groups. The inter‐relationships amongst all stakeholders are complex, as one group may initiate actions that serve as impediments for others. Developing systems‐based sustainable alternatives to traditional, environmentally‐harmful automobiles requires the network of relationships between stakeholders and impediments to be considered. This paper looks at the various impediments as well as how they can affect various stakeholders. It then posits a broad based integrative approach to provide the most favourable environment for consumers to consider AFVs.

Multilayer aircore inductors fabricated in a range of interconnection technologies which are MCM compatible are presented and compared. These consist of thick‐film, low temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC), printed circuit board (PCB) and fine‐line plated copper on ceramic (copper plating). From a comparison of simulated and measured results, it can be concluded that a predictive design capability has been achieved for inductance and self‐resonant frequency (SRF). Modelling of AC resistance and Q requires further investigation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether corporate governance changes along the corporate life-cycle.

In a sample of 205 firms from 21 emerging market countries and using a life-cycle proxy from the dividends literature, the authors use a governance-prediction model which examines whether corporate governance differs along the corporate life-cycle.

Mature firms tend to practice better overall corporate governance. Discipline and independence improve as firms mature. Firms tend to be most transparent and accountable when they are young. These findings suggest that the resource/strategy and monitoring/control governance functions are relevant but at different life-cycle stages.

In the absence of longitudinal governance data with sufficient coverage to track within-firm changes in corporate governance along the corporate life-cycle, the authors analyze differences in corporate governance between-firms at different life-cycle stages.

The authors use an alternative, yet new measure from the dividends literature to account for the firm’s position along the corporate life-cycle. With this new measure, the findings are in line with the predictions of Filatotchev et al. (2006).

The purpose of this paper is to examine the technical and relational value proposition preferences of credit union members and to examine the relationship between their preference and patronage activity.

A total of 800 members of credit unions were surveyed. Exploratory factor analysis was used and four factors were extracted incorporating technical and relational dimensions of the credit union service. Member value proposition preferences are examined and the relationship to patronage activity of the credit union was explored.

The majority of members express a higher or equal preference for a relational rather than a technical value proposition. Those that express a greater or equal preference for relational value are more likely to have a higher level of patronage activity.

Credit unions are member-owned financial institutions and hence the study is context dependent. Credit unions are member-owned financial institutions and hence relational value may be more significant than in the case of non-member owned entities.

The research highlights the importance of consideration of relational value in financial services entities whose competitive advantage lies in the relational. In terms of the credit union, the impact on the relational value proposition of the credit union must be considered in the design and implementation of industry restructuring.

This paper extends the emotional value and interactive quality construct to incorporate a greater relational focus which the paper suggests is of greater relevance to high-contact financial services. The research in this paper also extends beyond the criticised static focus of consumer perceived scales (consumer perceived value) and the episode focused service quality scales. Hence, it has a more longitudinal and holistic focus. The paper also incorporates a preference between benefits approach rather than an evaluative or trade-off between benefits and costs framework.