Anne Baker, Hazel Burke, Patricia Callaghan and Catherine Saunders
Lack of opportunities in further education for people with mental health problems in the Borough of Rochdale prompted a small group of mental health workers from a range of…
Abstract
Lack of opportunities in further education for people with mental health problems in the Borough of Rochdale prompted a small group of mental health workers from a range of agencies to develop an innovative partnership with the local further education college to research and create new education opportunities in 1997/1998. To date over 50 users of mental health services who hitherto would not have accessed mainstream further education services have participated in a range of newly established courses.
Sally Smith, Thomas N. Garavan, Anne Munro, Elaine Ramsey, Colin F. Smith and Alison Varey
The purpose of this study is to explore the role of professional and leader identity and the maintenance of identity, through identity work as IT professionals transitioned to a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the role of professional and leader identity and the maintenance of identity, through identity work as IT professionals transitioned to a permanent hybrid role. This study therefore contributes to the under-researched area of permanent transition to a hybrid role in the context of IT, where there is a requirement to enact both the professional and leader roles together.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilised a longitudinal design and two qualitative methods (interviews and reflective diaries) to gather data from 17 IT professionals transitioning to hybrid roles.
Findings
The study findings reveal that IT professionals engage in an ongoing process of reconciliation of professional and leader identity as they transition to a permanent hybrid role, and they construct hybrid professional–leader identities while continuing to value their professional identity. They experience professional–leader identity conflict resulting from reluctance to reconcile both professional and leader identities. They used both integration and differentiation identity work tactics to ameliorate these tensions.
Originality/value
The longitudinal study design, the qualitative approaches used and the unique context of the participants provide a dynamic and deep understanding of the challenges involved in performing hybrid roles in the context of IT.
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From book challenges to anti–critical race theory and anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning legislation, US English teachers have been on the receiving…
Abstract
Purpose
From book challenges to anti–critical race theory and anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning legislation, US English teachers have been on the receiving end of a considerable amount of far-right conservative pushback. This study aims to explore the effects of conservative pushback on individual English teachers and their classroom practice. What pushbacks have individual English teachers faced? How has pushback impacted their teaching? What strategies have they developed for navigating pushback?
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study explores secondary English teachers’ reported experiences with conservative backlash as reported in 15 semi-structured interviews conducted between May 2022 and August 2023.
Findings
Participants reported feeling the pressure of increased levels of pushback, and many reported censoring their book selections to avoid additional public scrutiny. At the same time, they also described a range of strategies they have developed for protecting themselves and their practice, such as codifying curriculum, increasing transparency, formalizing review processes for challenging books and strengthening their resolve to resist.
Originality/value
This study offers a timely window on a pressing problem affecting the daily practice of English teachers in the USA.
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A WEEK or two ago The Municipal Journal, in chronicling the opening of new libraries at Barrow and Bethnal Green, expressed the opinion that libraries “were having a new lease of…
Abstract
A WEEK or two ago The Municipal Journal, in chronicling the opening of new libraries at Barrow and Bethnal Green, expressed the opinion that libraries “were having a new lease of life.” The phrase is a curious one, as we were not aware that libraries were in a state of senility, although we were vividly aware of their imperfections. It is, nevertheless, true that there has been unwonted library activity of late, and library matters now receive some real attention in the public press. The latter may be due in some measure to the recent publicity campaign of the Library Association. Still, that does not account for the fact that many places, hitherto not quite awake to the value of libraries, are now asking about them, as Sutton, Weymouth, Marylebone, Coulsoon and Purley, while others are pressing for development, especially in the direction of Children's Libraries.
Zoe Posner, Jessie Janssen and Hazel Roddam
Burnout in mental health staff is acknowledged as a major problem. The purpose of this paper is to gain an understanding of mental health staff views on improving burnout and…
Abstract
Purpose
Burnout in mental health staff is acknowledged as a major problem. The purpose of this paper is to gain an understanding of mental health staff views on improving burnout and mental toughness in mental health staff.
Design/methodology/approach
Ten participants from two mental health rehabilitation units across the north-west of England took part in a Nominal Group Technique. Participants consisted of mental health workers from varied roles in order to capture views from a multidisciplinary team. The main question posed to the staff was “What strategies and techniques do you think could help improve burnout and mental toughness in mental health staff”.
Findings
The study revealed that the top three ideas to take forward to help improve burnout and mental toughness in mental health staff were improving the culture/organisation, improving staff wellbeing and education. Additionally, staff were highly motivated and enthusiastic about engaging in discussion about what could be done to improve their wellbeing and the importance of taking this forward.
Originality/value
This study is unique in involving mental health staff in discussing their ways of improving their mental health. It is also unique as it has found the nine strategies to do this and these could be used in targeted training for mental health staff.
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This contribution is an investigation into the palpable connection of extreme metal music and concepts of death, dying and mortality. Like other dark subcultures, metal has an…
Abstract
This contribution is an investigation into the palpable connection of extreme metal music and concepts of death, dying and mortality. Like other dark subcultures, metal has an intense infatuation with the macabre; many of its subcultures seek to uncover meaning through musical exploration into varying dark themes that emerge when thinking about death and what lies beyond the bounds of existence. From the abrasive and animalistic blood lust of death metal to the melancholic textures of black metal and the sonic void evoked in doom metal, extreme metal is a catalyst through which fans of the macabre can explore many perceptions and conceptions of corporeal fragility; the consuming pain of life, of death, and of knowing; and the existential notion of the ungraspable abyss. This chapter explores these varying conceptualisations of death in extreme metal culture, their sonic representations and their cathartic consolation: delving into the psychoanalytic reasoning and embodied sound of death.
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T. S. Jayne, Rui Benfica, Felix Kwame Yeboah and Jordan Chamberlin
Abstract
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Increasing numbers of men today are partners in dual careermarriages. However, the professional and personal consequences of thislifestyle for men′s traditional roles are not yet…
Abstract
Increasing numbers of men today are partners in dual career marriages. However, the professional and personal consequences of this lifestyle for men′s traditional roles are not yet well understood. Utilising an in‐depth interview methodology, an exploratory research study of 30 dual career partners focused on husbands and wives′ perceptions of the effect of wives′ careers on men. Predominantly positive professional and personal effects for husbands were identified, with men′s ages and the evolution in some marital structures from traditional to non‐traditional as apparent moderators of these outcomes. Specific consequences for men are discussed and implications of the study for organisations′ career development and human resource functions are considered.
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Michael Mustafa, Alan Coetzer, Hazel Melanie Ramos and Jorg Fuhrer
The purpose is to contribute to the debate on how job satisfaction might influence small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) employees' propensity to engage in innovative work…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to contribute to the debate on how job satisfaction might influence small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) employees' propensity to engage in innovative work behaviours. The authors examine the relations between job satisfaction and innovative work behaviour and each of its sub-dimensions: idea generation, promotion and realisation. Additionally, the authors explore the potential moderating effects of openness to experience and conscientiousness on the relations between job satisfaction and innovative work behaviour and each of the sub-dimensions of innovative work behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
Paper-based questionnaires were used to collect data from employees in 28 SMEs located in the Aargau region of Switzerland. All the SMEs were part of the high-tech manufacturing industry. The authors’ hypothesized model was tested using hierarchal regression analysis on a sample of 125 employees.
Findings
Job satisfaction was positively related to innovative work behaviour and to each of its sub-dimensions: idea generation, promotion and realisation. Openness to experience moderated the relationships between job satisfaction and innovative work behaviour and job satisfaction and the sub-dimensions idea generation, idea promotion and idea realisation. However, conscientiousness did not moderate the relationship between job satisfaction and innovative work behaviour, nor between job satisfaction and each of the sub-dimensions of innovative work behaviour.
Practical implications
Findings demonstrate that supportive work environments in SMEs which help develop job satisfaction among employees can have positive effects on the discretionary performances of employees.
Originality/value
Studies that examine relationships between job satisfaction and innovative work behaviours in SMEs are extremely sparse. This study makes novel contributions to this line of inquiry by examining how job satisfaction relates to each of the three sub-dimensions of innovative work behaviour and by exploring the potential moderating roles of two important personality traits in these relationships.