Search results

Michael Bichard has worked in the public sector throughout his career ‐ 20 years in local Government and nearly ten in central Government. He was Chief Executive of Brent and Gloucestershire local authorities and in 1990 became Chief Executive of the Government's Benefits Agency. In 1995 he was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Employment Department and then the Department for Education and Employment. Michael received a Knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours 1999. In May 2001 he left the Civil Service and in September 2001 was appointed Rector of The London Institute, the largest Art and Design Institute in Europe, which in May 2004 became University of the Arts London. In January 2004 he was appointed by the Home Office to chair the Soham/Bichard Inquiry and on 1 April 2005 he became Chair of the Legal Services Commission.

Formal opportunities for psychology undergraduates to carry out research training are starting to emerge. In spite of the fact that such training programmes would have a high authentic learning component little is known of undergraduate expectations and attitudes towards such programmes. This paper aims to focus on the issues.

In total, 108 undergraduate participants were surveyed in two experiments that recorded both the prospective and retrospective attitudes towards research training participation. Questionnaires and focus groups were employed and the data were triangulated together to converge on an understanding of student expectations towards authentic learning programmes.

While psychology undergraduates expect to be trained in contemporary research techniques it is the sense of community development that is the prime motivator for participation.

The paper places these findings within the context of increasing the employability profile of the undergraduate cohort.

High levels of need and complexity were identified in women referred to and accepted by the inreach team in HMP & YOI Bullwood Hall during the first two years of operation. They included mental health problems, personality disorder, substance misuse and social factors. During the first and second years of operation, there were 124 and 194 referrals respectively. Prevalence of substance misuse was high, and a large proportion of women were involved in multi‐drug use. Low mood was the most common reason for referral. The prevalence of intentional self‐injury was high, and was significantly associated with previous suicide attempts, history of abuse and personality disorder traits. A number of factors were identified that compromised effective through‐care to the community, including lack of accommodation and primary care access on release, and that disrupted the connectivity of care. These factors contributed to the social exclusion of this vulnerable group.

The objective of managment education for the potential or practising manager can be regarded as the development of skills of diagnosis and application in situations that are unique and highly complex. Therefore management research is the handmaiden of management and managers who are interested in what action to take in a specific situation. It follows that the task of management research in many cases must be regarded as incomplete until the process of development, out of positive theory, of its normative implications and the testing of these in action, has been accomplished.