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This paper presents findings from an exploration of the experiences of staff employed on sessional, part-time or fixed-term contracts (termed contingent staff), focusing on their perceptions and experiences of identity within a UK higher education context.

A comparative case study approach was adopted within a qualitative, interpretivist framework. Semi-structured interviews were used to facilitate an in-depth comparative analysis of the experiences of 11 contingent staff. Thematic analysis was employed to compare identity and practice across two settings to uncover distinct and shared factors.

Participants highlight several critical issues within the study units, including identity and perceived value, team dynamics, clarity of roles and the sense of inclusion within the broader academic community. The findings also reveal that the boundaries between educational roles – including educator, facilitator, coach, mentor and those associated with pastoral care – are increasingly indistinct, suggesting a convergence of pedagogical approaches and holistic practice.

This study provides insights into the underexplored area of pedagogic practice and identity among contingent staff in the UK higher education sector. Unlike previous research, which may broadly examine mentoring roles or apprenticeship outcomes, this study specifically highlights educators' identity perceptions and experiences on contingent contracts, providing a lens on their professional landscape. Employing a comparative case study design enhances the findings by allowing an in-depth juxtaposition of experiences across two distinct higher education institutions.

This paper aims to present an iterative approach to creating a collaborative design-and-play skatepark videogame for a children’s museum physics exhibit. Intended for children of 5-8 years old and accompanying adults, this interactive tabletop game encourages players to build a skatepark and then skate through it with a skater character. This case study describes the authors’ design perspective shift to make the game’s possibilities for tinkering more “perceptible.”

This paper presents a case-based design narrative that draws on the project’s iterative playability testing with parent–child dyads and reflections from the design team’s endeavors. This analysis draws on methodological elements adapted from agile game development processes and educational design-based research.

The initial game prototype inhibited the collaborative tinkering of parent–child dyads because it used interface abstractions such as menus, did not orient to the task of tinkering with skatepark design and did not help players understand why their skatepark designs failed. Subsequent game versions adopted blocks as a metaphor for interaction, gave players explicit design goals and models and provided players with more explicit feedback about their skater’s motion.

Museum games that provide tinkering experiences for children are an emerging medium. Central concerns for those designing such games are presenting multiple modes of play for different players and contexts and clearly and quickly communicating the possible activities and interactions. The design approach in this study offers players the opportunity to – at both short and long timescales – take up game-directed challenges or explore the skatepark physics through self-generated goals.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the influence of the Emergency Department (ED) target wait time upon the discharge decision in ED, specifically for patients who have self-harmed. Pressures to discharge patients to avoid breaching the 4-h target wait time, potentially increase the risk of adverse responses from clinicians. For the patient who has self-harmed, such interactions may be experienced as invalidating and may result in adverse outcomes.

Secondary data analysis was applied to the retrospective referral data of a Mental Health Liaison Team (MHLT), collected over a period of 11 months from a single hospital in the North of England. In total, 734 episodes of care were referred to the team from ED, where the primary presentation was recorded as self-harm.

Over half of patients referred to the MHLT from ED having self-harmed were seen after already breaching the target and the potential for a more restrictive outcome reduced. Of those patients seen within 4 h, the potential for a more restrictive treatment option was increased.

Recommendations to improve the patient journey for those who have self-harmed include mental health triage and treatment in clinical areas outside of the target.

This study challenges the concept of the target as being realistic and attainable for patients who have self-harmed.

This exploratory study provides a starting point from which to explore the impact of the target time upon discharge decisions and clinical outcomes specifically for those who have self-harmed.

This paper aims to provide an evidence assessment and narrative synthesis of literature regarding the key characteristics of older people living in service-integrated housing (SIH) facilities and their “accommodation journey”.

A rapid evidence assessment was conducted: 22 research publications met the inclusion criteria and were analysed using narrative synthesis.

The quality of studies in this area is low, but consistency across components of the results of studies included in the review is apparent. Results suggest key characteristics of older people that drive moves into SIH are a decline in health, increased dependency, increased health service use and carer burden. Suggested key characteristics of SIH residents are high levels of health problems, dependency and health service use, but high self-reported health and well-being. Results indicate that the key driver for older people leaving SIH is a lack of workforce competency to manage further declines in health and dependency status.

Current policy may not realise or account for the complex health and care needs of SIH residents. Investment into integrated care, robust community health services and workforce development to facilitate a comprehensive assessment approach may be required to support residents to remain in SIH and live well. Further longitudinal studies are required to map the progression of SIH residents’ health status in detail over time to provide an understanding of preventative and enablement support, development of care pathways and workforce planning and development requirements.

This evidence assessment is the first to consider the accommodation journey of older people residing in SIH.

Who will lead Ambridge in the years to come? Theories rooted in psychology and political science, when applied to family dynamics in The Archers, allow for some educated guesses. Social learning theory suggests that children who see their parents vote, run for office and participate in other civic activities are more likely to do the same in adulthood. Emma Grundy did just that when she followed in the footsteps of her father, Neil Carter, in winning a seat on the parish council. Previous research has found that birth order also can shape future leaders, with the eldest child more likely to benefit developmentally from parents' undivided attention in the early years, and also more likely to establish a hierarchy of power over younger siblings. With these factors in mind, who are the most probable contenders to lead Ambridge in the spheres of politics, business and civic affairs? The extant research points to Pip Archer, Lily Pargetter, Phoebe Aldridge and George Grundy. The unique circumstances of Ruairi Donovan's childhood suggest he may also be a formidable candidate. And, as is the case in so many contexts, one would be wise not to overlook Molly Button.

The popularization of slasher as subgenre begins with the release of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Hooper, 1974) and Halloween (Carpenter, 1978). Both films serve to define the topic of the subgenre: a serial killer that often slaughters groups of teenagers, especially attractive young women, using bladed weapons (Linz & Donnerstein, 1994; Molitor & Sapolski, 1993, 1994). Thus, although the definition of the slasher is not really fixed in terms of gender, the killers have been traditionally interpreted by men, while the victims have been usually interpreted by women (Clover, 2015; Trencansky, 2001; Weaver et al., 2015). Not for nothing, another important character is the final girl, who uncovers the monster´s motivations and finishes the killer off in the final scene; an important role that is actually a form of female subjugation. However, some exceptions can be found such as Pamela Voorhees (Friday the 13th, Cunningham, 1980), but she is simply defined as Jason´s mother. More interesting is the case of the Scream saga, in particular Scream 4 (Craven, 2011) where a teenage girl, portrayed by Emma Roberts, tries to play the role of the killer and the final girl at the same time.

In recent years, the slasher has gained importance in television. After Harper’s Island (CBS, 2009), an homage to the subgenre rather than a real slasher TV show, in 2015, MTV launched Scream, based on the film series and which continues exploring the gender roles anticipated by the last movie of the saga. In the same year, Fox launched Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens (2015–2016) starred by Jamie Lee Curtis, the final girl of Prom night (Lynch, 1980) and Halloween saga, and Emma Roberts. In this regard, current television tries to renew the slasher, but starting from the clichés and even some familiar faces of the subgenre.

The purpose of this chapter is to evaluate the representation and evolution of female characters in slasher television series, exploring the relationship among the killer, the final girl and the rest of the victims. In this way, television series like Scream, Scream Queens (Fox, 2015–2016) or Slasher (Super Channel, 2016–) are analysed.

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of a novel offender personality disorder (OPD) higher education programme and the research evaluation results collected over a three-year period. Data from Phase 1 was collected from a face-to-face mode of delivery, and Phase 2 data collected from the same programme was from an online mode of delivery because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Phase 1, three modules were developed and delivered in a fully face-to-face format before the pandemic in 2019–2020 (n = 52 student participants). In 2020–2021 (n = 66 student participants), training was adapted into a fully online mode of delivery in Phase 2. This mixed-methods study evaluated participant confidence and compassion. Pre-, post- and six-month follow-up questionnaires were completed. Qualitative interviews were conducted across both phases to gain in-depth feedback on this programme (Phase 1: N = 7 students, Phase 2: N = 2 students, N = 5 leaders). Data from Phase 1 (face-to-face) and Phase 2 (online) are synthesised for comparison.

In Phase 1 (N = 52), confidence in working with people with personality disorder or associated difficulties improved significantly, while compassion did not change. In Phase 2 (N = 66), these results were replicated, with statistically significant improvements in confidence reported. Compassion, however, was reduced in Phase 2 at the six-month follow-up. Results have been integrated and have assisted in shaping the future of modules to meet the learning needs of students.

Further research into the impact of different modes of delivery is important for the future of education in a post-pandemic digitalised society. Comparisons of blended learning approaches were not covered but would be beneficial to explore and evaluate in the future.

This comparison provided informed learning for consideration in the development of non-related educational programmes and, hence, was of use to other educational providers.

This paper provides a comparison of a student-evaluated training programme, thus providing insights into the impact of delivering a relational-focused training programme in both face-to-face and online distance learning delivery modes. From this pedagogic research evaluation, the authors were able to derive unique insights into the outcomes of this programme.

The exchange of knowledge in social networks is fundamental to innovation. Open, interactive, innovation requires collaboration through social networks. This social networking is increasingly carried out across the Internet through social media applications. The purpose of this study is to explore the use of social media in open innovation, and explain how this practice is carried out in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With less resources than large firms, SMEs both have a greater need for open innovation and a less resources to invest in the process.

In this paper, the authors study the case of open innovation in start-up Aurea Productiva and induce a framework for open innovation in SMEs powered by social media.

The authors explore how the main advantages of the Web 2.0 translate into opportunities, challenges and strategies for open innovation that can be directly applied by managers.

The authors contribute to research on open innovation by social media and to research on the innovation process of SMEs. Future quantitative research could confirm and extend the authors’ findings.

Companies that want to fully exploit the benefits of social media can create a strategy that emphasizes coevolution of innovation and resources, sharing their vision and objectives and providing a framework for innovation.

The authors introduce an original analysis of opportunities, challenges and strategies for open innovation in SMEs.

This paper aims to address how perceived social media agility can promulgate co-creation processes, such as co-production and value-in-use, and how it impacts brand-related outcomes. This study also addresses calls for marketing scholars to investigate the types of personality traits that affect these potential relationships by accounting for the impact of technology reflectiveness.

This paper conducted an online survey with 321 adult subjects. The direct, indirect and conditional (moderation) effects were assessed using multivariate regression, various PROCESS models and the Johnson–Neyman technique (to probe the interaction terms). Additional supplemental analyses were conducted via PROCESS models.

The results show that perceived social media agility directly and indirectly (through co-production and value-in-use) positively influences brand attachment and that the order of these two processes matters (co-production followed by value-in-use). Results also show that the positive impact of perceived social media agility on co-production and value-in-use deviates for customers high in technology reflectiveness but can be manipulated according to which process comes first.

This paper expounds on the new construct of perceived social media agility by uniquely linking perceived social media agility to two distinct value co-creation processes (co-production and value-in-use) and brand-related outcomes while highlighting how consumer-specific traits can affect this relationship in a social media setting.