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Workforce development is crucial to the offender personality disorder (OPD) service to provide contemporary, evidenced care and treatment. This study aims to provide an overview and the research evaluation results of a regional higher education programme delivered to a range of criminal justice workers used on the OPD pathway.

Three modules were developed and delivered; these are (1) enhancing understanding (20 students), (2) formulation and therapeutic intervention (20 students) and (3) relationships, teams and environments (17 students). A mixed-methods study evaluated participant confidence and compassion. Pre, post and six-month follow-up questionnaires were completed. Additionally, a series of focus groups were conducted to gain in-depth qualitative feedback with a cross-section of students across the modules (N = 7). Quantitative data was collected and analysed separately due to the three modules all having different content. Qualitative data was analysed, and a synthesis of qualitative findings was reported from data taken across the three modules.

A total of 52 students participated, drawn from three modules: Module 1 (N = 19); Module 2 (N = 18); Module 3 (N = 15). Confidence in working with people with a personality disorder or associated difficulties improved significantly following completion of any of the modules, whereas compassion did not. Results have been synthesised and have assisted in the future shaping of modules to meet the learning needs of students.

Further evaluation of the effectiveness of educational programmes requires attention, as does the longer-term durability of effect. Further research is required to explore the post-training impact upon practice, and further exploration is required and larger sample sizes to draw definitive conclusions related to compassion.

This unique model of co-production that draws upon the expertise of people with lived experience, occupational frontline and academics is achievable and well received by students and can be reproduced elsewhere.

The positive uptake and results of this study indicate a need for expansion of accessible OPD workforce training opportunities across the UK. Further research is required to explore student feedback and comparisons of effectiveness comparing different modes of training delivery, especially in light of the pandemic, which has forced organisations and higher education institutions to develop more digital and distance learning approaches to their portfolios.

This novel research provides an evaluation of the only higher education credit-bearing modules in the UK focussed solely upon the OPD workforce and aligned with the national drive for non-credit bearing awareness level training “knowledge and understanding framework” (KUF).

This paper aims to summarise a new model of authentic leadership derived from research with senior leaders in the UK.

The model was developed and tested using three independent samples: 140 business leaders, 54 senior military officers with 390 independent raters and 303 business leaders.

A 15-item, self-report, three-component measure of authentic leadership was obtained from testing across samples. The three components measure an individual’s capacity for self-awareness, self-regulation and ethical behaviour.

The paper contributes to the authentic leadership literature through the creation of a short authentic leadership scale that could be used in leadership research and which simplifies and unifies previous conceptualisations of authentic leadership. The three-pillar model offers guidance to HR practitioners looking to design leadership development interventions.

Although the effort‐reward imbalance (ERI) model of job stress has gained support in predicting employee health, it has rarely been examined in the context of the work‐home interface. This study aims to test an expanded ERI model in predicting work‐life conflict (WLC) in university employees. Three hypotheses relating to the ERI are tested. It is also predicted that lower organisational support for work‐life balance, less schedule flexibility and lower levels of separation between work and home life will lead to increased work‐life conflict.

In this cross‐sectional study, 1,108 employees working in UK universities completed questionnaires assessing ERI, WLC, schedule flexibility, employer support and work‐life separation/integration.

Strong main effects of job‐related efforts, rewards and over‐commitment on WLC are found. A significant two‐way interaction (effort×reward) and some evidence for a three‐way interaction effort×reward×over‐commitment) are observed. Perceived schedule flexibility and work‐life integration also make significant contributions to the variance in WLC. The final model explains 66 per cent of criterion variance.

As the study is cross‐sectional, causal relationships cannot be established.

This study extends knowledge of the ERI model as a predictor of WLC. More research is required into ways in which effort‐reward inequity and over‐commitment might threaten work‐life balance, together with the working practices and organisational factors which might modify this threat.

The ERI model has rarely been examined in the context of the work‐home interface. The importance of effort‐reward imbalance and over‐commitment to WLC has been highlighted.

A significant number of people with psychosis require inpatient admission under the Mental Health Act. Department of Health documents have highlighted the importance of delivering effective care to individuals with psychosis treated in low secure conditions. Research into patient outcomes in these settings has so far been neglected. The aim of the research reported here was to assess outcomes for patients tested at three six‐monthly assessments during their residence at a new community low secure facility for people with psychosis and challenging behaviour. Although there were numerical reductions on many of the outcome measures over time, few were statistically significant. The main significant improvements were in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total and delusions scores over time. Initial evidence indicates that this type of care may have promise, but further research is needed to extend these findings.

Introduces an instrument for measuring organizational culture. Discussion of the concept precedes discussion of the problems of measurement and the traditions and theory on which design of the instrument draws. Summarizes the dimensions to be measured in terms of four general bipolar descriptive types: homogeneous v. heterogeneous; enriched v. managed; developing v. stationary; balanced v. dissonnant. Items in the Cultural Audit Instrument (a 17‐page questionnaire) are grouped in sections on the basis of previous research; the causes of problems; the outcomes; the moderator. For each response element the instrument measures the person's perceptions of their own and others' situations in the organization and of their ideal situation. Gives examples of results.

The aim of this case study is to describe how a population needs assessment was undertaken for the London Borough of Merton's Social Services Department. It will demonstrate one possible approach to this seemingly enormous task. There are many possible ways of approaching such a project and the methodology chosen will be influenced not only by the resources and time available, but also by the values of those undertaking it. This case study will briefly set out the background and methodology to Merton's project and then describe some of the sources of information that were used. It will conclude with a brief discussion of the issues that this work raised for the local authority and how these are now being tackled.

The purpose of this case study is to highlight the complexities involved in conducting a social return on investment (SROI) forecast in a small social enterprise, The Wooden Canal Boat Society.

This SROI forecast was a collaborative exercise between Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council and the Wooden Canal Boat Society. A case study methodology has been adopted in order to allow the voice of the first author, from the Local Authority, to come through.

The findings highlight that the process of scoping; gathering and analysing information; engaging with stakeholders and assigning evidence against proxies (London centric) is challenging and exhausting, yet it provides a rich learning experience for all those involved. The accuracy of the ratio is compromised and implicated by the time and resources that are available to invest the subjectivity of the data behind the ratio the judgements and decisions over who and how to include/exclude individuals from the SROI forecast. In short, the Wooden Canal Boat Society SROI forecast proved to be the tipping point in a successful grant application. However, SROI is not something the Local Authority are set to embrace more widely or would particularly recommend for the vast majority of their local social economy organisations.

As a case study paper, the authors do not seek to generalise. The case provides the reader with a stakeholder informed account of the experiences of being involved in a forecast SROI from the perspective of the first author from the Local Authority. In times of political change and economic austerity the climate in the UK social economy has significantly altered, particularly in the marketisation of services and funding provisions for health and social care. One implication of this shift that is reflected in the paper is Local Authority thinking in light of the Social Value Act, which passed through the UK Parliament in 2012.

The value of this case study provides academics and practitioners with an alternative perspective and rich commentary of the first author's narrative and reflections on the process of SROI and the dynamics involved in arriving at the ratio.

This paper seeks to explore the attitudes of lesbian mothers towards same‐sex marriage, focusing in particular on how they perceive the relationship between marriage and children's best interests.

The paper draws on 36 semi‐structured interviews with lesbian mothers living in British Columbia and Alberta, comparing their views on marriage and children's best interests with those articulated by lesbian and gay litigants during the Canadian same‐sex marriage campaign.

It was found that few of the mothers made any positive link between having married parents and children's best interests. Only a quarter of the couples had married or intended to marry.

Whether the views expressed in this research will be embraced by the next generation of lesbian mothers is difficult to predict. Prospective lesbian mothers will be able to marry before having children, will likely experience greater societal pressure to marry, and may have weaker ties to feminist politics. The issue should be revisited to see whether the views expressed in the research resonate with the next generation of mothers.

Law reform directed at same‐sex families should not presume that lesbians perceive there to be any positive relationship between marriage and children's best interests.

The paper provides empirical data on how lesbian mothers understand the relationship, if any, between having married parents and children's best interests. It challenges the universality of the very traditional views expressed in the same‐sex marriage litigation, and argues that amongst the wider lesbian mothering community attitudes towards the relationship between marriage and parenting are considerably more diverse.