Andrew Simpson, Lisa Parcsi and Andrew McDonald
People living with severe mental illness (PLWSMI) experience disproportionately high rates of morbidity and mortality compared with the general population. Sydney Local Health…
Abstract
Purpose
People living with severe mental illness (PLWSMI) experience disproportionately high rates of morbidity and mortality compared with the general population. Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) introduced the Living Well, Living Longer integrated care program in 2013 to address this inequity. This paper reports on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the provision of physical health interventions to community mental health consumers in SLHD.
Design/methodology/approach
Rates of COVID-19 vaccinations were collated. Routinely collected service data were reviewed for changes in rates of metabolic monitoring, mental health shared care, physical health checks, cardiometabolic health clinic assessments and diet and exercise interventions.
Findings
91.9% of consumers received at least two COVID-19 vaccinations and 61.3% received a booster. However, there was a 37.3% reduction in rates of metabolic monitoring, 20.1% reduction in Mental Health Shared Care agreements, 60.6% reduction in physical health checks with general practitioners, 65.4% reduction in cardiometabolic clinic assessments and 19.8% reduction of diet and exercise interventions.
Practical implications
The impact of the pandemic may lead to an exacerbation of poorly managed comorbid disease and increased premature mortality in people living with severe mental illness. Service providers should consider the local impact of the pandemic on the provision of physical health interventions and ensure steps are taken to address any deficits.
Originality/value
There is a paucity of published analysis regarding the impact of the pandemic on the provision of physical health interventions to people living with severe mental illness.
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Gokul P. Paudel, Hom Gartaula, Dil Bahadur Rahut, Scott E. Justice, Timothy J. Krupnik and Andrew J. McDonald
This study examines the adoption drivers of scale-appropriate mechanization in Nepal's maize-based farming systems. The authors also assess the contribution of scale-appropriate…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the adoption drivers of scale-appropriate mechanization in Nepal's maize-based farming systems. The authors also assess the contribution of scale-appropriate mechanization to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of zero hunger (SDG2) and no poverty (SDG1).
Design/methodology/approach
Propensity score matching and doubly robust inverse probability-weighted regression adjusted methods were applied to estimate the effects of mini-tiller adoption. These methods control the biases that arise from observed heterogeneities between mini-tillers users and nonusers.
Findings
The study findings show that farm size, labor shortages, draft animal scarcity, market proximity, household assets and household heads' educational level influence the adoption of mechanization in Nepal. Mechanized farms exhibited enhanced maize productivity, profits and household food self-sufficiency. Reduced depth and severity of poverty were also observed. Nevertheless, these effects were not uniform; very small farms (≤0.41 ha) facing acute labor shortages benefited the most.
Research limitations/implications
The study results suggest that policymakers in developing nations like Nepal may wish to expand their emphasis on scale-appropriate mechanization to improve farm productivity and household food security, reduce poverty and contribute to the SDGs.
Originality/value
This first-of-its-kind study establishes the causal effects between scale-appropriate farm mechanization and SDG1 (no poverty) and SDG2 (zero hunger) in a developing nation.
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Covers a special issue of this journal (E+T) which looks at various ways of keeping the workforce data specific and able to adapt. States that some of the articles explore the…
Abstract
Covers a special issue of this journal (E+T) which looks at various ways of keeping the workforce data specific and able to adapt. States that some of the articles explore the relationship between employers and the education world of business. Draws on experiences from the USA, the UK and Europe; and among the businesses discussed are: Microsoft; IBM; Maytag corp.; Vauxhall; St John Ambulance; McDonald‘s; Bradford Management Centre; Bayer; Newcastle upon Tyne City Council and the University of Northumbria; University of Leuven (Belgium); and Stanford University Office of Technology licensing. Proposes that the overriding theme herein is that the lethargy within UK companies must be overcome if the UK is to remain an economy with competitiveness as its catchword. Concludes that the recruitment of the right people, allied to training, will lead to retainment of the staff and increases in creativity and productivity.
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The history of Catholic Teacher Education is linked to the growth and development of Catholic schools that began in the early nineteenth century. The Catholic Church struggled to…
Abstract
The history of Catholic Teacher Education is linked to the growth and development of Catholic schools that began in the early nineteenth century. The Catholic Church struggled to recruit enough certificated teachers and relied heavily on pupil teachers. This began to be resolved with the opening of Notre Dame College, Glasgow, in 1895 and St Margaret's College, Craiglockhart, in 1920. The two Colleges would merge into the national St Andrew's College in 1981. This national college would undertake a further merger with the University of Glasgow in 1999 to become part of the newly formed Faculty of Education, later School of Education. The School of Education continues to discharge the mission to prepare teachers for Catholic schools.
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The research explores the emerging specialty of learning space assessment with a focus on how new information professionals represented by graduate students in an academic…
Abstract
Purpose
The research explores the emerging specialty of learning space assessment with a focus on how new information professionals represented by graduate students in an academic libraries course defined quality criteria for library spaces and how they approached designing and conducting a one-shot multi-site space assessment project.
Design/methodology/approach
The instructor-investigator adopted a diachronic collective case study strategy, using documents generated by six cohorts over three academic years. The data included 180 online discussion posts, 97 individual site assessments and 32 group project reports. Data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively to identify patterns and trends in student behaviour.
Findings
The analysis revealed a strong trend among students for creating their own evaluation frameworks in preference to reusing existing professional tools in their current form; the proportion of students who developed their own criteria or combined existing criteria in new ways shifted from 40 per cent to 80 per cent in three years. Their approaches demonstrated willingness and ability to engage in independent and creative thinking, and readiness to explore interdisciplinary and international perspectives on space. They also displayed a commitment to accessible, flexible and adaptable user-centred design for active, collaborative learning and to bringing a user perspective to their observations.
Originality/value
The focus on student-librarians provides a unique forward-looking perspective on the desirable qualities of next-generation learning spaces in academic libraries. The study documents an unprecedented range of established and novel space evaluation frameworks and tools informed by different professional disciplines. The results should be of interest to library and information science (LIS) educators and practitioners.
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Sawsan Taha Dulaymi, Mohammed A. Marghalani, Andrew McDonald and John I. Tait
Saudi academic libraries (SALs) have been moving towards using electronic resources since 1992. This study aims to investigate the changes in electronic journal (EJ…
Abstract
Saudi academic libraries (SALs) have been moving towards using electronic resources since 1992. This study aims to investigate the changes in electronic journal (EJ) (bibliographic and full‐text databases) and printed journal (PJ) collection and acquisition in terms of number of titles, type of provisions and acquisition budgets and costs, between the years 1995 and 2000. The survey method was used to obtain the data. The instruments used in this study were questionnaires that were distributed to six academic libraries in Saudi Arabia. The percentages were used to show the differences between the increase and the decrease of EJ and PJ collections and budgets. The most important findings show that the percentage of EJ collections sharply increased in 1996 by 98 percent, which corresponds to a high increase in their budget of 125 percent.
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Ken McPhail, Robert Ochoki Nyamori and Savitri Taylor
The purpose of this paper is to address two questions: first, what contracts, instruments and accounting activities constitute Australia’s offshore asylum seeker processing policy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address two questions: first, what contracts, instruments and accounting activities constitute Australia’s offshore asylum seeker processing policy in practice? Second, how are notions of legitimacy and accountability mediated through the network constituted by this policy?
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is located in the critical interpretivist approach to accounting research. It is based on an exhaustive documentary analysis. Policy documents, contract documents, records of parliamentary inquiries (Hansard) and legislation were analysed drawing on a network policy perspective.
Findings
The paper finds that the Australian Government has sought to escape its accountability obligations by employing a range of approaches. The first of these approaches is the construction of a network involving foreign states, private corporations and non-government organizations. The second is through a watered down accountability regime and refusal to be accountable for the day-to-day life of asylum seekers in offshore processing centres through a play with the meaning of “effective control”. Yet while the policy network seems designed to create accountability gaps, the requirement within the network to remain financially accountable undermines the governments claims not to be responsible for the conditions in the detention camps.
Research limitations/implications
The paper focuses largely on the period starting from when Kevin Rudd became Prime Minister to the death in Papua New Guinea of asylum seeker Reza Barati on 17 February 2014. Earlier periods are beyond the scope of this paper.
Practical implications
The paper will result in the identification of deficiencies inhuman rights accountability for extra-territorialized and privatised immigration detention and may contribute towards the formulation of effective policy recommendations to overcome such deficiencies. The paper also provides empirical data on, and academic understanding of, immigration detention outsourcing and offshoring.
Social implications
The paper will inform debate regarding treatment of unauthorized maritime arrivals and asylum seekers generally.
Originality/value
The paper provides the first detailed and full understanding of the way Australia’s offshore asylum seeker processing policy is practiced. The paper also provides an empirical analysis of the way national policy and its associated accountability mechanisms emerge in response to the competing legitimacy claims of the international community and national electorate.
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Lifelong learning and opportunities in the UK through initiatives such as the National Grid for Learning and the University for Industry, are briefly described prior to an…
Abstract
Lifelong learning and opportunities in the UK through initiatives such as the National Grid for Learning and the University for Industry, are briefly described prior to an overview of how public libraries can, and are, being involved in the process of providing ICT (Information and Communications Technology) training courses for lifelong learners. In Belfast Public Libraries, partnerships have been made with other organisations involved in running training courses in ICT. A pilot scheme has involved people coming to the library for courses such as CLAIT (Computer Literacy and Information Technology) and the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence). Preliminary results from this pilot are described.