Search results

This article describes the changes in the population of people with learning disabilities in Sheffield and the associated demand for specialist learning disability services, primary and acute health services and the wider public realm. It comments particularly on people with the most complex needs. The study to produce this data was in two parts: an analysis of changes in the overall number of people with a learning disability which included a projection of how the number might change over the next ten years, and an analysis of the health and support needs of young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD), and how these might change in the future. The findings are compelling. The overall number of people with a learning disability in Sheffield increased by 25% in the 10 years from 1998 to 2008, the number of children and young people with a learning disability increased by nearly 120% and young people with PMLD were found to have an unprecedented level of health and social care need, which will increase further as they enter adulthood. The implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for further research are offered.

In June 2016, a clear majority of English voters chose to unilaterally take the United Kingdom out of the European Union (EU). According to many of the post-Brexit vote analyses, the single strongest motivating factor driving this vote was “immigration” in Britain, an issue which had long been the central mobilizing force of the United Kingdom Independence Party. The chapter focuses on how – following the bitter demise of multiculturalism – these Brexit related developments may now signal the end of Britain's postcolonial settlement on migration and race, the other parts of a progressive philosophy which had long been marked out as a proud British distinction from its neighbors. In successfully racializing, lumping together, and relabeling as “immigrants” three anomalous non-“immigrant” groups – asylum seekers, EU nationals, and British Muslims – UKIP leader Nigel Farage made explicit an insidious recasting of ideas of “immigration” and “integration,” emergent since the year 2000, which exhumed the ideas of Enoch Powell and threatened the status of even the most settled British minority ethnic populations – as has been seen in the Windrush scandal. Central to this has been the rejection of the postnational principle of non-discrimination by nationality, which had seen its fullest European expression in Britain during the 1990s and 2000s. The referendum on Brexit enabled an extraordinary democratic vote on the notion of “national” population and membership, in which “the People” might openly roll back the various diasporic, multinational, cosmopolitan, or human rights–based conceptions of global society which had taken root during those decades. This chapter unpacks the toxic cocktail that lays behind the forces propelling Boris Johnson to power. It also raises the question of whether Britain will provide a negative examplar to the rest of Europe on issues concerning the future of multiethnic societies.

The demand for including enterprise in the education system, at all levels and for all pupils is now a global phenomenon. Within this context, the use of competitions and competitive learning activities is presented as a popular and effective vehicle for learning. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate how a realist method of enquiry – which utilises theory as the unit of analysis – can shed new light on the assumed and unintended outcomes of enterprise education competitions. The case developed here is that there are inherent flaws in assuming that competitions will ‘work’ in the ways set out in policy and guidance. Some of the most prevalent stated outcomes – that competitions will motivate and reward young people, that they will enable the development of entrepreneurial skills, and that learners will be inspired by their peers – are challenged by theory from psychology and education. The issue at stake is that the expansion of enterprise education policy into primary and secondary education increases the likelihood that more learners will be sheep dipped in competitions, and competitive activities, without a clear recognition of the potential unintended effects. In this chapter, we employ a realist-informed approach to critically evaluate the theoretical basis that underpins the use of competitions and competitive learning activities in school-based enterprise education. We believe that our findings and subsequent recommendations will provide those who promote and practice the use of competitions with a richer, more sophisticated picture of the potential flaws within such activities.

David Marquand (2004) opens his celebrated book on the ‘decline’ of public service by arguing (pace Tawney) that there is a fundamental tension between capitalism and democracy – the former dedicated to an essential economic inequality (competition); the latter dedicated to rights-based equity derived from civic ideals. His book highlights public sector institutions as the arena in which the inevitable tussle between the two is played out. The neo-liberal movement provides the ideological vehicle for reform of public institutions, designed to ‘root out the culture of service and citizenship’ (p. 2) – i.e., those civic ideals. At the heart of the struggle is professionalism, the combination of competence, judgement and principle, and neo-liberalism takes careful aim at it.

Given the importance of trust in social life, the concept has had little direct attention from evaluators.¹ Trust is central to the seeming integrity of social processes, including, of course, the social processes we call evaluation. Evaluation depends for its success on cooperative relationships and a measure of trust. Evaluation stands in an interesting relationship to trust. The credibility and utility of evaluation rests on trust. Loss or lack of trust is a major impetus to evaluation, and evaluation sometimes takes the place of trust. The process of evaluation requires trust, and evaluation is used to underpin or provide a warrant for trust.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the introduction of a voluntary sector pilot project to develop innovative mental health services for young people.

A combination of observation, interview and group discussion with service providers and users was used to build a picture of the relationships between context, mechanism and outcome.

The project was perceived as successful and beneficial in all three pilot sites, although there were differences of perception as to whether it complemented or challenged existing statutory services.

Learning about what adolescents and young adults with complex mental health needs find helpful may help to develop more appropriate and acceptable services. A mental health service for young people delivered by the voluntary sector offers the opportunity for radical service innovation. Synergy may be achieved as a result of statutory and voluntary sectors working together but the ethos of the voluntary service may challenge that of the statutory services.

The research is original in that it examines the process of introducing an innovative voluntary sector project into an existing traditional service framework.

The importance of branding in industrial contexts has increased, yet a comprehensive model of business‐to‐business (B2B) branding does not exist, nor has there been a thorough empirical study of the applicability of a full brand equity model in a B2B context. This paper aims to discuss the suitability and limitations of Keller's customer‐based brand equity model and tests its applicability in a B2B market.

The study involved the use of semi‐structured interviews with senior buyers of technology for electronic tracking of waste management.

Findings suggest that amongst organisational buyers there is a much greater emphasis on the selling organisation, including its corporate brand, credibility and staff, than on individual brands and their associated dimensions.

The study investigates real brands with real potential buyers, so there is a risk that the results may represent industry‐specific factors that are not representative of all B2B markets. Future research that validates the importance of the Keller elements in other industrial marketing contexts would be beneficial.

The findings are relevant for marketing practitioners, researchers and managers as a starting‐point for their B2B brand equity research.

Detailed insights and key lessons from the field with regard to how B2B brand equity should be conceptualised and measured are offered. A revised brand equity model for B2B application is also presented.

In order to cope with a substantial increase in output and enhance customer services, Mebon Ltd — a leading company in surface coatings technology — has invested approaching £2 million in a 50,000 sq metre warehouse.