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1 – 10 of 282Sarah McDonald and Mark Bertram
The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe the effectiveness, achievements and challenges of a job creation project that was developed with people in contact…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe the effectiveness, achievements and challenges of a job creation project that was developed with people in contact with forensic mental health services.
Design/methodology/approach
This evaluation (case study) used a mixed methods approach: a range of quantitative and qualitative data were gathered, analysed and interpreted.
Findings
There were economic and health benefits. The income generation was sufficient to fund a large chunk of the projects operating costs. Service users reported improvements in mental health, wellbeing, confidence, skill development and earning capacity.
Research limitations/implications
The sample size was too small to be generalised and no validated measures were used. Further research is required into the long-term benefits of job creation in mental health services and providing a continuum of employment support.
Practical implications
A range of commercial activity can form the basis for job creation and work training projects in mental health services. Substantial operating costs can be generated, to re-invest in job creation/enterprises.
Social implications
Social value can be enhanced within NHS public sector procurement procedures. Agreement between a range of internal NHS departments is necessary: finance, commercial, estates and facilities, and procurement.
Originality/value
Public sector procurement has the potential to act as a catalyst to support the inclusion agenda by funding commercial activity that job creation projects can undertake.
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Sarah McDonald and Mike Homfray
The purpose of this paper is to explore the views of drug and alcohol workers on existing alcohol-related public health policies in the UK. Alcohol consumption is closely…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the views of drug and alcohol workers on existing alcohol-related public health policies in the UK. Alcohol consumption is closely linked to negative health outcomes, social problems and increasing cost burdens for the UK public, yet alcohol consumption is legal and drinking alcohol is a normalised feature of society.
Design/methodology/approach
Nine drug and alcohol workers completed semi-structured interviews, exploring awareness of alcohol-related public health strategies, views on how both their clients and the public orient towards drinking behaviour, and perceptions of links between alcohol treatment and public health services.
Findings
Ambivalence towards alcohol-related public health strategies, and a lack of mutual awareness and coordination between public health and treatment services were expressed by participants. Participants felt that public health strategies around alcohol were out of reach to their client group, and failing to have a behavioural change effect on the wider public. Participants proposed several ways of improving public health strategies.
Research limitations/implications
Drug and alcohol workers are potentially valuable contributors in developing public health policy. Their views, based both on interactions with service users and on occupationally influenced observations of society, could be utilised more effectively than is currently the case.
Originality/value
This study uniquely ties together public health and treatment aspects of alcohol services and employs a methodology that opens the way for further research and clinical development.
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Mark Bertram and Sarah McDonald
The purpose of this paper is to explore what helped seven people in contact with secondary mental health services achieve their vocational goals, such as: employment…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore what helped seven people in contact with secondary mental health services achieve their vocational goals, such as: employment, education, training and volunteering.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used the practice of co-operative inquiry – staff and peer supporters co-designed an evaluation of vocational and peer support work with service users.
Findings
Service users experienced invalidating living conditions that caused serious distress. These life struggles included: isolation, trauma events and stigma. The impact involved distressing emotions such as: despair, fear, pain and confusion. In contrast, when service users experienced supportive validating conditions (trusting relationships, engaging in valued activity and peer support) they reported being able to learn, change and grow – finding their own way forward, to improve well-being and quality of life.
Research limitations/implications
Qualitative analysis from in-depth interviews revealed a range of consistent themes that enabled the authors to visually represent these and “begin” developing a model of change – grounded in lived experience. Further research is required to develop this model.
Originality/value
The development of a model of change grounded in an invalidation/validation framework offers a different approach – in terms of how people are perceived and treated. This has relevance for Government policy development, clinical commissioning groups and practitioners.
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Mark Bertram reports findings from his survey of service users, which asked what the term ‘social inclusion’ meant to them.
Aegis Frumento and Stephanie Korenman
The purpose of this paper is to review the first two years of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) efforts to regulate cryptosecurities to assess the trends of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the first two years of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) efforts to regulate cryptosecurities to assess the trends of that regulation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors review the SEC’s official pronouncements and informal statements about, and its enforcement actions against participants in, various early experiments in cryptosecurities.
Findings
The SEC has been evolving how to apply the US securities laws to cryptosecurities since its report on The DAO two years ago. When “coins” on a blockchain meet the traditional Howey Test, it is easy to categorize them as “securities.” However, the bedrock regulatory principle that some person must account for violations is frustrated by automated blockchain transactions, where no human is in control. This tension risks a “moral crumple zone” arising around cryptosecurities, in which persons might become liable for violations that they cannot fairly be said to have caused.
Originality/value
This paper provides valuable information and insights about the beginnings of US regulation of cryptosecurities and how the evolution of that regulation is trending after two years.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe the learning from a historical NHS vocational service development that focused on: mental health, employment and social inclusion…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the learning from a historical NHS vocational service development that focused on: mental health, employment and social inclusion – in an inner city area – involving service users, staff and commissioners.
Design/methodology/approach
It is a descriptive case study. A range of historical documents was content analysed and described through a first-person narrative: service user consultations, service specifications, audit records, outcome frameworks, internal service evaluations and published literature.
Findings
When vocational NHS service developments are grounded in what service users say helps them (person-centred, networked and co-ordinated approaches) the evidence indicates people can achieve their vocational goals.
Research limitations/implications
The range of documents described is factual, although the learning insights from some of the service developments are based on personal judgements. The author was the responsible manager – personal bias is high. There is not enough robust evidence to warrant generalisation.
Practical implications
When employment and social inclusion are prioritised, as core business in NHS, outcomes and health impact can increase. Greater detail is needed from healthcare policy makers – focusing on who exactly should undertake this work and what the key commissioning social inclusion performance indicators are.
Originality/value
The bulk of literature on employment support focuses on promoting evidence from one model: individual placement and support. Evidence here indicates a broader range of activity (education, training and volunteering) can have value and health impact.
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Heather E. Dillaway and Elizabeth R. Paré
Purpose – Within cultural discourse, prescriptions for “good” motherhood exist. To further the analysis of these prescriptions, we examine how media conversations about…
Abstract
Purpose – Within cultural discourse, prescriptions for “good” motherhood exist. To further the analysis of these prescriptions, we examine how media conversations about Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and First Lady Michelle Obama during the 2008 presidential election campaign illustrate existing notions of good motherhood.Methods – Using qualitative content analysis techniques, we review media discourse about Palin, Clinton, and Obama during this campaign. We use existing feminist literature on motherhood and an intersectionality perspective to ground our analysis, comparing and contrasting discourse about these political figures.Findings – The 2008 campaign represented a campaign for good motherhood as much as it represented a campaign for the next president. Discourse on Palin, Clinton, and Obama creates three very different characterizations of mothers: the bad, working mother and failed supermom (Palin), the unfeeling, absent mother (Clinton), and the intensive, stay-at-home mother (Obama). The campaign reified a very narrow, ideological standard for good motherhood and did little to broaden the acceptability of mothers in politics.Value of paper – This article exemplifies the type of intersectional work that can be done in the areas of motherhood and family. Applying an intersectionality perspective in the analysis of media discourse allows us to see exactly how the 2008 campaign became a campaign for good motherhood. Moreover, until we engage in an intersectional analysis of this discourse, we might not see that the reification of good motherhood within campaign discourse is also a reification of hegemonic gender, race, class, age, and family structure locations.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the most significant censorship issues faced by UK school librarians today and to determine what factors influence attitudes…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the most significant censorship issues faced by UK school librarians today and to determine what factors influence attitudes towards these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was designed, closely based on that used for a previous survey of UK librarians in 2004. It was distributed online and 96 responses were received.
Findings
Overall, respondents were more likely to express support for intellectual freedom in theory than in practice. Statements that prompted the strongest pro-censorship responses related to access issues, namely, labelling and filtering. A number of librarians place significant emphasis on their personal ability, or right, to determine whether or not resources are included in the collection. There was evidence of a difference in practical application depending on whether librarians worked with pre-school children or were members of professional associations.
Research limitations/implications
The findings suggest a need for further research into the role of professional associations in supporting school librarians faced by censorship issues, especially those who support the youngest students.
Originality/value
The findings suggest that while school librarians hold strong pro-intellectual freedom views, they may need additional support to put these into practice. School librarians are undoubtedly in a challenging position, often being solo workers; they need support to find ways to uphold professional intellectual freedom principles within a school setting.
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