Catherine Roberts, Jason Davies and Richard G. Maggs
The restrictive nature of low secure mental health settings and the issues associated with risk management and safe practice raise numerous challenges which need to be overcome…
Abstract
Purpose
The restrictive nature of low secure mental health settings and the issues associated with risk management and safe practice raise numerous challenges which need to be overcome for individuals to engage in community-based programmes. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Two community-based schemes are described. The first uses the natural environment as a medium in which to deliver opportunities to develop vocational skills. The second provides exercise-based activity to promote healthier living. This paper aims to explore the acceptability, feasibility and sustainability of the projects along with the views and achievements of participants.
Findings
Both schemes were well-attended with positive views from participants and others. Planned positive risk taking enabled individuals to participate in a safe and structured way. Initial evaluation of the projects suggest that they were viewed as acceptable by the service and valued by participants. Participation led to some individuals engaging in new opportunities for vocational and leisure activities.
Practical implications
Fostering access to community-based occupational opportunities for those in low secure mental health services can be achieved safely and with numerous apparent benefits. Research is now needed to determine further the nature and extent of the gains made through such activity.
Originality/value
This is the first known study of its kind utilising inter-agency collaboration to address the needs of those residing in a low secure mental health facility. Within the forensic mental health population, the standards of care recommend a comprehensive, recovery-focused approach aimed at building resilience and preventing relapse, with the need for thorough intervention for physical health needs. This study supports these recommendations by providing opportunities for planned positive risk taking, opportunities for social inclusion, skills development, increased access to physical exercise to address overall wellbeing.
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Jane Lewis, Jane Greenstock, Kim Caldwell and Beth Anderson
The wider research literature indicates that health professionals’ ability to identify possible child maltreatment varies, and that this can lead to under-reporting of possible…
Abstract
Purpose
The wider research literature indicates that health professionals’ ability to identify possible child maltreatment varies, and that this can lead to under-reporting of possible maltreatment to local authority (LA) statutory child protection agencies. The purpose of this paper is to understand how acute trust paediatric and LA services work together in suspected cases of child maltreatment, and what is viewed locally as good practice.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-method approach, consisting of an online survey, qualitative case studies and good practice examples, was used to describe key features of current practice in joint working between acute trusts and LA services, and to generate insights that could help improve practice.
Findings
Holistic assessment and information gathering, supported by training and expert input, were identified as being critical to a comprehensive approach to identifying maltreatment. Both in-hospital and community-based social work arrangements can be effective bases for joint working in respect of child maltreatment. Effective joint working relies on shared vision and values, and investment in, and commitment to, collaborative working.
Research limitations/implications
This study covered arrangements in emergency departments (EDs) and maternity departments only, so future research could usefully look more broadly within acute care settings. Study respondents were also limited to safeguarding leads so, in future, there would be real value in exploring the experiences, practices and views of frontline practitioners.
Practical implications
The study includes practical implications for hospital and social work teams working to safeguard children.
Originality/value
The study highlights the characteristics of effective liaison between acute trust maternity and EDS and social work teams.
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Susan Frelich Appleton and Susan Ekberg Stiritz
This paper explores four works of contemporary fiction to illuminate formal and informal regulation of sex. The paper’s co-authors frame analysis with the story of their creation…
Abstract
This paper explores four works of contemporary fiction to illuminate formal and informal regulation of sex. The paper’s co-authors frame analysis with the story of their creation of a transdisciplinary course, entitled “Regulating Sex: Historical and Cultural Encounters,” in which students mined literature for social critique, became immersed in the study of law and its limits, and developed increased sensitivity to power, its uses, and abuses. The paper demonstrates the value theoretically and pedagogically of third-wave feminisms, wild zones, and contact zones as analytic constructs and contends that including sex and sexualities in conversations transforms personal experience, education, society, and culture, including law.
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Catherine Avent reviews some of the recent crop of careers guidance books and pamphlets.
Susan W. Arendt, Kevin R. Roberts, Catherine Strohbehn, Jason Ellis, Paola Paez and Janell Meyer
The purpose of this paper is to present the challenges encountered when conducting qualitative research in foodservice operations and to discuss the strategies to overcome the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the challenges encountered when conducting qualitative research in foodservice operations and to discuss the strategies to overcome the identified challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers conducted food safety observations, interviews, and focus groups with more than 600 foodservice employees and managers. The researchers encountered multiple challenges including institutional review board approvals, managements' willingness to participate, and organizational and cultural barriers.
Findings
Obtaining in‐depth, credible information through observations, interviews, and focus groups adds depth and breadth to hospitality studies. However, given high industry turnover, recruitment and retention throughout a study is problematic. Moreover, researchers encounter many barriers as they obtain data, such as establishing authenticity and overcoming Hawthorne and halo effects.
Originality/value
Strategies to increase participation and thereby improve qualitative research have not been previously addressed in the hospitality literature
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Popular self-help pregnancy literature suggests a “generational disconnect” between pregnant women and their mothers, emphasizing the incommensurate experiences of the two…
Abstract
Popular self-help pregnancy literature suggests a “generational disconnect” between pregnant women and their mothers, emphasizing the incommensurate experiences of the two generations. Based on longitudinal, in-depth interviews with a diverse group of 64 pregnant women and 23 grandmothers-to-be, this chapter explores how different generations of women negotiate the idea of a disconnect and its implications for the medicalization of pregnancy. My findings showed limited support for the generational disconnect. Nearly all of the pregnant women I interviewed who were in contact with their mothers consulted them to assess issues related to pregnancy embodiment. Black and Latina women and white women with less than a college degree disregarded or even rejected the disconnect; they tended to frame their mothers’ advice as relevant. Their mothers attended prenatal care appointments and frequently expressed skepticism about medical directives. By contrast, I found that highly educated white women tended to endorse the generational disconnect when it came to matters related to pregnancy health behaviors – what to eat, how much to exercise – and their obstetric care. The mothers of these women not only largely supported the generational disconnect, but also bonded with their daughter over a shared appreciation for scientific understandings of pregnancy. Foregrounding women’s perspectives provides insights into meaning-making in pregnancy and the ways that mothers of pregnant women can both stymie and deepen medicalization of childbearing.
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Elizabeth Dawson, Rosie Dodd, Jill Roberts and Catherine Wakeling
This article focuses attention on the charity and voluntary sector in the UK. It provides an overview of the nature of the sector and the position of records management within it…
Abstract
This article focuses attention on the charity and voluntary sector in the UK. It provides an overview of the nature of the sector and the position of records management within it. Two short case studies present examples of records management work and describe solutions to specific issues achieved with limited resources. Finally, challenges facing records management in the sector are discussed, along with reasons for its vulnerability.