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1 – 10 of 12Alyssa Cox, Hayley Simmons, Ginny Painter, Pippa Philipson, Rachel Hill and Verity Chester
Patients treated within secure/forensic settings experience numerous barriers to meaningful vocation, including restrictions under the Mental Health Act, which limit community…
Abstract
Purpose
Patients treated within secure/forensic settings experience numerous barriers to meaningful vocation, including restrictions under the Mental Health Act, which limit community access. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of Real Work Opportunities, an inclusive and accessible vocational rehabilitation programme within a forensic intellectual disability service. The programme involved setting up employment and interview workshops, interviews, and interview feedback, and job roles within the secure service, to simulate the real work process.
Design/methodology/approach
A reflective account of the development and implementation of the Real Work Opportunity programme with a forensic intellectual disability population.
Findings
The programme was well received by the patients involved and a high attendance rate was maintained over time despite the demands that were expected. Roles have been advertised for two employment periods and have had two sets of successful candidates. Patients demonstrated skills development throughout the employment process, including general work-based skills, punctuality and time management, managing duties, responsibility, specific role-related skills, interpersonal skills and personal presentation.
Research limitations/implications
Despite limited experience of work prior to admission, many patients were enthusiastic and motivated to work. The initial trial of the programme has been well received by both patients and staff. Future developments will include widening the number and types of opportunity offered by the programme.
Originality/value
This paper describes a vocational rehabilitation programme for a particularly marginalised population, people with intellectual disabilities within a forensic service. The programme proved highly popular with patients, and enabled them to develop transferable employment skills.
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Joel H. Helquist, Jordan J. Cox and Alyssa Walker
The purpose of this paper is to present a virtual process simulation technique for modeling process alternatives.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a virtual process simulation technique for modeling process alternatives.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper proposes modeling method and applies it to an illustrative example.
Findings
The method is effective in modeling the illustrative example and provides a method for studying team composition and dynamics a priori.
Practical implications
The paper presents an approach to model process alternatives in order to select the best deployment option. The modeling process incorporates measures and metrics relating to global geographic and team issues. Incorporation of these issues affords the process designer the ability to predict more accurately the most successful deployment option.
Originality/value
The research contributes to the study of process modeling by examining the potentially neglected or ignored issues relating to geographic and team diversity.
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Joel H. Helquist, Amit Deokar, Jordan J. Cox and Alyssa Walker
The purpose of this paper is to propose virtual process simulation as a technique for identifying and analyzing uncertainty in processes. Uncertainty is composed of both risks and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose virtual process simulation as a technique for identifying and analyzing uncertainty in processes. Uncertainty is composed of both risks and opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
Virtual process simulation involves the creation of graphical models representing the process of interest and associated tasks. Graphical models representing the resources (e.g. people, facilities, tools, etc.) are also created. The members of the resources graphical models are assigned to process tasks in all possible combinations. Secondary calculi, representing uncertainty, are imposed upon these models to determine scores. From the scores, changes in process structure or resource allocation can be used to manage uncertainty.
Findings
The example illustrates the benefits of utilizing virtual process simulation in process pre‐planning. Process pre‐planning can be used as part of strategic or operational uncertainty management.
Practical implications
This paper presents an approach to clarify and assess uncertainty in new processes. This modeling technique enables the quantification of measures and metrics to assist in systematic uncertainty analysis. Virtual process simulation affords process designers the ability to more thoroughly examine uncertainty while planning processes.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the study of uncertainty management by promoting a systematic approach that quantifies metrics and measures according to the objectives of a given process.
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In childlessness literature, researchers often engage in a discussion of why some women (and men) intend or choose to remain childless, with an emphasis on macro-level or…
Abstract
In childlessness literature, researchers often engage in a discussion of why some women (and men) intend or choose to remain childless, with an emphasis on macro-level or interpersonal experiences. However, further research is needed to identify the ways in which voluntarily childless (VC) adults actively negotiate the social world among structural influences that simultaneously value parenthood and place complex burdens on parents. Utilising the Bourdieuian concepts of habitus, capital and field, this chapter contributes to a shift in the conversation from ‘why’ individuals remain childless towards an understanding of ‘how’ childbearing preferences impact individuals’ lives in practice.
This research compares experiences and characteristics of non-parents in relation to childbearing preferences. This study explores a sample of 972 participants’ responses to two open-ended questions addressing particular social arenas or experiences where they feel pressured or encouraged to have children as well as those where they feel pressured or encouraged not to have children. Responses were coded using a general inductive approach to identify emerging themes regarding the social fields and the nature of the interactions relevant to childbearing preferences. A between group comparison of temporarily childless (TC) and VC participants indicated a number of similarities and differences that highlight the contradictions, hardships and benefits of actively deciding to delay or forgo having children.
Both groups frequently indicated family, friends, work or school, public spaces and other structural and cultural factors pressuring or encouraging them to have children, but also indicated pressures or encouragement within similar fields advising them not to have children. For both groups, many of the responses highlighted the contradictory nature of these messages. The similarities and differences between groups also highlight ways in which the current status of non-parent can lead to certain similar social experiences, regardless of personal preference for the future, while also showing a number of ways these encounters are experienced or perceived differently, based on this preference.
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Explanations for voluntary or intentional childlessness range from macro-level forces, such as feminism and access to contraceptives, to micro-level or individual preferences…
Abstract
Explanations for voluntary or intentional childlessness range from macro-level forces, such as feminism and access to contraceptives, to micro-level or individual preferences, such as the prioritisation of leisure time over childrearing. However, some researchers contend that the decision (not) to have children is likely impacted by overlapping factors rather than a dichotomised characterisation of internal or external factors. This debate similarly reflects Pierre Bourdieu’s ‘third way’ theoretical and methodological orientation. Bourdieu argued against a false dichotomy between the influence of structure over an individual and the ability for individuals to make active, free choices. He instead claimed that the social world consists of a complex interplay of both individual and structural factors, which he conceptualised as habitus, capital and fields. This chapter initiates the link between current understandings of childbearing preferences with Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus (our taken-for-granted, internalised ideologies or identities), capital (economic, social, cultural and symbolic resources) and fields (the external social structures or institutions in which we interact) and proposes quantitative measures of childbearing habitus and capital.
This chapter consists of an exploratory comparison of characteristics of non-parents in relation to childbearing preferences, suggesting measures to identify deeply rooted childbearing habitus and the relationship between access to various forms of capital and the habitus. This study utilises survey responses from a sample of 972 childless men and women between 25 and 40 years of age, assessing measures of social support, cultural norms and economic resources in relation to participants’ preference to have or not to have children in the future. A multivariate nested logistic regression was conducted to explore the odds of identifying as voluntarily childless (VC) (not wanting or probably not wanting, to have children in the future) based on socio-demographic factors, as well as various measures of social, economic, cultural and symbolic capital. Findings indicate several variations in significant factors contributing to a preference to remain childfree. Measures of cultural capital, including gender ideologies and pronatalist ideologies, appeared to be the greatest predictors of childbearing habitus. These findings support research suggesting that VC adults are more egalitarian and less traditional in gender relations as well as pronatalist assumptions.
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Emily J. Solari, Nancy S. McIntyre, Jaclyn M. Dynia and Alyssa Henry
Academic outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remain poor, especially in the area of reading, in particular, reading comprehension. In recent years…
Abstract
Academic outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remain poor, especially in the area of reading, in particular, reading comprehension. In recent years, researchers have begun to investigate subcomponent skills of reading comprehension for children with ASD in order to better understand its development and potential interventions to enhance outcomes. This chapter highlights the current knowledge in the field in regards to the key cognitive and language skills associated with reading development for individuals with ASD. These include emergent-literacy skills, word-reading and decoding, reading fluency, oral language, and social cognition. Additionally, the chapter makes suggestions for future research in this area, in particular the need to conduct research to establish evidence-based practices to better support the syndrome-specific reading needs for this population.
Stephanie A. Kolakowsky-Hayner, Kandis Jones, Amanda Kleckner, Kimberly Kuchinski, Alyssa Metzger and Jennifer Schueck-Plominski
Cerebral palsy is one of the leading causes of chronic disability in children. The current pilot study investigated (1) whether an exoskeleton system enables physiological gait…
Abstract
Purpose
Cerebral palsy is one of the leading causes of chronic disability in children. The current pilot study investigated (1) whether an exoskeleton system enables physiological gait patterns and (2) whether the system is user-friendly enough to envision its use in a clinical setting.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants included a convenience sample of six children with cerebral palsy. Following informed consent, study volunteers underwent baseline assessments, participated in eight sessions during which they used the exoskeleton system with the objective of achieving proficiency in use of the system, and underwent an end-of-study assessment of walking. Satisfaction and usability questionnaires were given to the family/caregiver.
Findings
All participants achieved a more regular gait pattern and improved their 6-Minute Walk Test scores. Overall satisfaction and usability were rated as good.
Practical implications
The exoskeleton system enabled physiological gait patterns, and the system was user-friendly enough to envision its use in a clinical setting.
Originality/value
There is potential for guiding treatment plans for individuals with cerebral palsy.
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This paper aims to explore how and why ideas regarding “intersectional” approaches to feminism and Black activism are drawn on in marketing content related to the concept of being…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how and why ideas regarding “intersectional” approaches to feminism and Black activism are drawn on in marketing content related to the concept of being “woke” (invested in addressing social injustices). It considers which subject positions are represented as part of this and what they reveal about contemporary issues concerning advertising, gender, race and activism.
Design/methodology/approach
This study involves an interpretive and critical discursive analysis of so-called feminist advertising (“femvertising”) and marketing examples that make use of Black social justice activist ideas.
Findings
Findings illuminate how marketing simultaneously enables the visibility and erasure of “intersectional”, feminist and Black social justice activist issues, with the use of key racialised and gendered subject positions: White Saviour, Black Excellence, Strong Black Woman (and Mother) and “Woke” Change Agent.
Research limitations/implications
This research signals how brands (mis)use issues concerning commercialised notions of feminism, equality and Black social justice activism as part of marketing that flattens and reframes liberationist politics while upholding the neoliberal idea that achievement and social change requires individual ambition and consumption rather than structural shifts and resistance.
Practical implications
This work can aid the development of advertising standards regulatory approaches which account for nuances of stereotypical representations and marketing’s connection to intersecting issues regarding racism and sexism.
Originality/value
This research outlines a conceptualisation of the branding of “woke” bravery, which expands our understanding of the interdependency of issues related to race, gender, feminism, activism and marketing. It highlights marketing responses to recent socio-political times, which are influenced by public discourse concerning movements, including Black Lives Matter and Me Too.
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