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The protracted and multidisciplinary nature of paediatric cochlear implantation presents particular challenges in addressing issues of clinical governance. The implantation process is one that involves many disciplines in acute and community settings over several years. Reviews the difficulties presented by a protracted, multidisciplinary intervention for addressing issues of clinical governance within the context of paediatric cochlear implantation. Discusses the activities of the Nottingham Paediatric Cochlear Implant Programme in tackling these problems and gives some details of its progress and success in these areas.

Mephedrone is a synthetic stimulant drug causing entactogenic and hallucinogenic effects. A systematic review of all existing empirical research and literature from 2009‐2012 on this new psychoactive drug was conducted. This paper aims to report on that review.

The review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Electronic databases were utilised using the search terms “mephedrone” and product nomenclature; “Plant Food”, “Feeder”, “Meow Meow”, “Miaow”, “Drone”, “Meph” “Bubbles”, “Charge”, and “MCat”. The search was restricted to publications from 2009‐2012, and produced 702 results. Data were collected by one member of the research team and cross checked by another. A primary screening was carried out to exclude inaccurate search results and drugs other than mephedrone. The results were studied and duplicates removed; 598 results were discarded, with 104 deemed suitable for inclusion.

The review underscores mephedrone's popularity despite legislative controls. Drug displacement patterns from illicit to licit were observed prior to controls, with blending of mephedrone and other substitute cathinones with street drugs thereafter. User consumptive choices are grounded in availability, perceptions of legality and safety, curiosity and perceived quality of drug outcomes within poly drug taking repertoires. Clinical reports indicate that mephedrone has high abuse potential and toxicity, with several dependence symptoms. Risk assessment, detection, diagnosis and treatment of mephedrone use are difficult due to polydrug use and associated mental health disorders.

The review points to the need for further research into the pharmacology and toxicity of mephedrone in order to better equip clinicians with assessment, diagnosis and treatment strategies to reduce morbidity.

The increasingly diversified new psycho stimulant market where mephedrone is a major player poses unprecedented challenges for drug surveillance, policy, community and clinical practice.

Stricter legislative controls including internet vendor responsibility for supply of mephedrone have been suggested, along with raising public awareness on an international level through coordinated efforts.

The last review was published in 2009 by the Psychonaut Webmapping Group. This review brings together a comprehensive new set of data sources as they relate to this drug.

Private equity has acquired multiple large nursing home chains within the past few years; by 2007, it owned 6 of the 10 largest chains. Despite widespread public and policy interest, evidence on the purported impact of private equity on nursing home performance is limited. In our review, we begin by briefly reviewing the organizational and environmental changes in the nursing home industry that facilitated private equity investments. We offer a conceptual framework to hypothesize the relationship between private equity ownership and nursing home performance. Finally, we offer a research agenda focused on the important parameters of nursing home performance: financial performance, and quality of care.

The authors have attempted to understand how big data and predictive analytics (BDPA) can help retain employees in the organization.

This study is grounded in the positivism philosophy. The authors have used a resource-based view (RBV) to develop their research hypotheses. The authors tested their research hypotheses using primary data gathered using a single-informant questionnaire. The authors obtained 254 usable responses. The authors performed the assumptions test, performed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test the validity of the proposed theoretical model, and further tested their research hypotheses using hierarchical regression analysis.

The statistical result suggests that the various human resource management strategies play a significant role in improving retention under the mediating effect of the BDPA.

The authors have grounded their study in the positivism philosophy. Moreover, the authors tested their hypotheses using single-informant cross-sectional data. Hence, the authors cannot ignore the effects of the common method bias on their research findings. Moreover, the research findings are based on a particular setting. Thus, the authors caution the readers that their findings must be examined in the light of their study limitations.

The study provided empirical findings based on survey data. Hence, the authors provide numerous guidelines to the practitioners that how the organization can invest in creating BDPA that helps analyze complex data to extract meaningful and relevant information. This information related to employee turnaround may guide top management to reduce the dissatisfaction level among the employees working in high-stress environments resulting from a high degree of uncertainty.

The study helps understand the complex factors that affect the morale of the employee. In the high-paced environment, the employees are often exposed to various negative forces that affect their morale which further affect their productivity. Due to lack of awareness and adequate information, most of the employees and their issues are not dealt with effectively and efficiently by their line managers. Thus, the BDPA can help tackle the most complex problem of society in a significant way.

This study offers some useful contributions to the literature which attempts to unfold the complex nexus between human resource management, information management and strategy. The study contributes to the BDPA literature and how it helps in the retention of employees is one of the areas which still remains elusive to the academic community. Moreover, the managers are still skeptical about the application of BDPA in understanding human-related issues due to a lack of understanding of how and to what extent the employee-related information can be stored and processed. This study’s findings further open the new avenues of research that need to be tackled.

In social work education there is often felt to be a disjunction between what students learn in college and what they need to know in practice ‐ the gap between the ‘hard high ground’ of academia and the ‘swampy lowlands’ of practice (Schön, 2003). This paper will demonstrate how an approach borrowed from theatre in education was successfully used to fill this gap and enhance teaching and learning across years two and three of a BA social work course. The paper explores the use of role play techniques utilising a ‘teacher in role’ and ‘mantle of the expert’ (Heathcote & Bolton, 1996) approach to enable students to synthesise theory, practice and skills in a classroom setting.

This case study describes how one library leveraged shared resources by defaulting to a consortial catalog search.

The authors use a case study approach to describe steps involved in changing the catalog interface, then assess the project with a usability study and an analysis of borrowing statistics.

The authors determined the benefit to library patrons was significant and resulted in increased borrowing. The usability study revealed elements of the catalog interface needing improvement.

Taking advantage of an existing resource increased the visibility of consortial materials to better serve library patrons. The library provided these resources without significant additional investment.

While the authors were able to identify other libraries using their consortial catalog as the default search, no substantive published research on its benefits exists in the literature. This chapter will be valuable to libraries with limited budgets that would like to increase patron access to materials.

In this proof-of-concept study, the authors assessed the feasibility of using a humanoid robot controlled remotely via an immersive telepresence system to support a person with intellectual and motor disabilities performing a daily task (i.e. setting a table for lunch).

The system involved a head-mounted display and two joysticks. A teleoperator was able to see through the video cameras of the robot and deliver the instructions verbally to the participant located in a different room. To assess the system, a baseline phase (A) was followed by an intervention (i.e. tele-operated support) phase (B) and a return to a baseline phase (A).

Data showed a marked increase in the average frequency of task steps correctly performed from baseline (M = 15%) to intervention (M = 93%). Accuracy reached 100% in the return to baseline.

These preliminary findings, along with qualitative feedback from users, suggest that an immersive telepresence system may be used to provide remote support to people with intellectual and motor disabilities.