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This study aims to explore the applicability of Bordin’s model of therapeutic alliance in talking therapies for people with intellectual disabilities.

People with intellectual disabilities and therapists in six therapy dyads were interviewed using a qualitative methodology. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to explore how people with learning disabilities constructed the dimensions of therapeutic alliance. Content analysis was then used to focus on therapy bond, therapy tasks and goals to explore the agreement on these dimensions between the therapist and client.

People with intellectual disabilities reported their experience of therapy in a way that initially validates the alliance dimensions of Bordin’s model. There was clear overlap within most dyads in the description of the characteristics of the bond, the tasks undertaken and the goals of therapy. Some therapists described additional goals based on their therapeutic model that were not clearly described by the client working with them.

This study is limited by only including six therapy dyads; however, the results suggest further research on the impact of therapy alliance and how goals and tasks are agreed would be valuable.

Very few studies have explicitly examined the client’s view of therapy alliance.

This paper focuses on accessing the experiences of three boys who are on the autism spectrum to identify what using a voice output communication aid (VOCA), within a classroom setting, means to them. The methods used to identify the boys' perspectives are described and evaluated. Establishing these through direct methods of engagement proved problematic but working with parents and school staff as ‘expert guides’ provided a rich insight into what using a VOCA appeared to mean to the boys. The findings suggest that using a computer‐based VOCA can be viewed by children with autism as a pleasurable and motivating activity. This technology also seems to offer the potential for a much broader developmental impact for these children than that currently recognised within the research literature.

This study aims to investigate the response by a multi-campus private higher education provider to a major crisis. This study examined what elements of complex adaptive systems (CAS) were activated and/or developed within the organization during the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, through a retrospective analysis of organizational responses.

A retrospective qualitative approach has been used. The theory of CAS has been used as the theoretical lens to explore the organizational context, responses and behaviours during the first year of the COVID-19 crisis. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 senior leaders across the major functions of the organization spread over multiple campuses.

Findings point to coverage of the main CAS characteristics in the organizational responses to the pandemic, however, in varying degrees. There was strong evidence for the application of guiding principles, for self-organizing, for micro-diversity coupled with independent actors and new generative relationships, all brought about by the chaos the pandemic generated. This study concludes that the global pandemic presented this organization with the impetus for rapid and agile responses to what ultimately has become a constructive crisis, paving the way for key elements of CAS theory to be enacted. This study recommend embedding the conscious creation of an adaptive space within ongoing strategic organizational transformation initiatives.

There is scant literature on CAS as applied to crises from organizations in the higher education sector and notably from outside of the health/medical fields. As a result, this study offers a novel and original approach to applying CAS theory during a major crisis. In addition to the findings above, this study also found an emergent characteristic, that of agility, which could be further tested as a potential theoretical addition to CAS theory.

To determine the most appropriate and effective support to enable autistic people to gain and maintain employment in their chosen field. This paper aims to determine this and by which methods are most suitable for this kind of support, with a focus on mentoring.

Mentoring is an intervention that has shown promise in assisting people who encounter barriers in finding work (for example, Roycroft, 2014). This research was conducted to determine whether the mentoring of autistic adults is effective in helping them to gain and maintain employment. The study examined the mentoring records of 90 autistic adults who were in receipt of funded mentoring with 18 separate organisations across England.

The authors found that the nationally recognised statistic of autistic people in full-time employment as 16% (National Autistic Society, 2016) was ambitious and subject to regional variation. Based on the results of a programme providing employment and mentoring support that is available and accessible to autistic people, however, outcomes improve and employment is more likely to be achieved and maintained – including in areas of, especially low employment. It was found that 48% of autistic job seekers who were supported by specialist mentors found paid employment (full-time or part-time), demonstrating a 16% increase in paid employment between those who received mentoring support and those who did not.

A wider study across the UK would first determine if the nationally recognised figure is incorrect and also highlight those areas of the country which perform particularly well or badly.

This paper believes that this is the only research of it is kind in the UK and that it is a springboard for others who have greater resources available to them. This study is two very early-career academics on the autism spectrum with limited resources available to us.

This study identifies that bricklaying trade has not benefited much from off-site production, and bricklaying has been highlighted as a trade significantly affected by the documented skills shortage in Scotland with 66% of small and medium enterprises reporting difficulties in recruiting bricklayers.

This study used an interpretivistic philosophy adopting the phenomenological qualitative research approach using purposeful sampling technique and semi-structured interviews to allow for emergent themes to develop. The theory of proximal similarity that connects the study’s characteristics and the characteristics of the group under study was adopted.

Findings from the emergent themes identified issues grouped into key themes such as inconsistency of income, lack of care and self-employed workforce. The sub-themes included the Scottish climate, risk and profit, physical strain and government expectations and the cost of innovation. These were considered in relation to their existing and future implications for the industry.

A wider and more diverse group of industry participants from different parts of Scotland would have made the study more representative.

It is imperative that the Scottish construction industry supports, develops and trains future bricklayers capable of maintaining existing housing stock and to deliver on future construction projects in Scotland.

This study explores the shortage of skilled bricklayers within the Scottish construction sector.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the importance of virtuous leadership and identify six characteristics that are necessary for the modern leader to be effective in an increasingly challenging and competitive world market.

Theory development.

The authors suggest that virtuous leaders possess an uncommon level of commitment to those employees whom they serve, to their customers, to their shareholders, and to society at large, the authors extend the concept of the moral continuum and identify the importance of a virtuous perspective in honoring the obligation to optimize wealth creation and enriching outcomes and relationships, and the authors suggest ten propositions about virtuous leadership that may be empirically tested by both scholars and practitioners who are interested in studying and/or applying virtuous leadership to improve relationships and build organizations.

Original article.

This paper aims to report the results of a comprehensive literature review concerned with exploring the distinctive roles of the underlying multidimensional psychological mechanisms through which organizational culture (OC) affects TQM.

A thorough review of the relevant existing studies focusing on the direct and indirect links between OC, employee readiness for change (ERFC), employee commitment to change (ECC) and TQM implementation was conducted. To identify studies to include in the review, electronic searches of prominent databases and journals were carried out for the period 1980 to 2020.

The thorough analysis of relevant studies indicates that various types of OC influence TQM through certain psychological mechanisms namely ERFC dimensions and employee affective commitment to change. As a consequence, the paper develops a set of propositions and a novel integrative conceptual framework to explain the mediating roles of ERFCs and EACC in the OC–TQM relationship and then concludes by suggesting future lines of research and highlighting practical managerial implications.

Drawing on academic perspectives from multiple literature streams, this study offers a more advanced understanding of the relationship between OC and TQM implementation via exploring multiple mediating paths.

This study aims to provide insight into the question of whether graduate students who deliver environmental education workshops/residencies to elementary school children will develop environmental sustainability leadership qualities in themselves: a goal set in the University of Calgary’s Institutional Sustainability Strategy.

Survey research was undertaken in a case study setting. The researchers collected and analyzed data related to environmental leadership qualities, using the theory of planned behavior and an adaptation of the competing values framework. Graduate students participating in the co-curricular program responded to questions about the effect that the activity had on their knowledge, awareness and leadership characteristics.

Graduate students demonstrated considerable leadership potential in environmental sustainability. The survey results showed that their participation in a community educational program impacted their attitudes and awareness favorably in developing stronger competencies for leadership. In addition, they gained real-world knowledge about environmentally sustainable practices and skills to influence pro-environmental behavior changes in the community.

Through a partnership between a non-profit organization and the university, graduate students in an interdisciplinary sustainable energy development program used their formal education and previous work experience to adapt and deliver engaging and educational environmental content to younger children. This informal co-curricular activity brought together local educational institutions, educational content providers, graduate students, and elementary school children in an effective experiential learning platform to develop leadership characteristics both in the graduate students and elementary school children.