Jan Aasen, Fredrik Nilsson, Torgeir Sørensen, Lars Lien and Marja Leonhardt
This study aims to explore how people with concurrent mental health and substance use disorders and lived experience of deep social marginalization perceived barriers and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how people with concurrent mental health and substance use disorders and lived experience of deep social marginalization perceived barriers and facilitators to mainstream social participation. The purpose of this study is to identify meaningful and relevant learning content for a virtual reality-based intervention to promote social participation in this group.
Design/methodology/approach
This formative qualitative study was conducted in Norway during Autumn 2022. Nine in-depth individual interviews with adults recovering from dual diagnosis were conducted, audiotaped, transcribed and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis in a collaborative analysis process.
Findings
Results indicated that social alienation, poor social skills, stigma, low self-esteem and social anxiety were key barriers to social participation in this group. This study suggests a need to learn appropriate social behaviour in mainstream society, in addition to better employability skills, civic literacy and health literacy to improve utilization of social opportunities.
Practical implications
This study implies that virtual reality-based interventions for promoting social participation in people with dual diagnosis should primarily focus on learning and practising appropriate social behaviour in shared public spaces before practising advanced social skills such as employability skills in simulated work environments. Learning and practising social skills appears decisive for using more complex social opportunities, such as in education, health, social services and work.
Originality/value
This research provides suggestions for the content of a novel virtual reality-based intervention to promote social participation among people in recovery from dual diagnosis.
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Marit Aas and Jan Merok Paulsen
A number of empirical studies and evaluations in Norway and Sweden shows variabilities in the degree to which the municipalities succeed in their endeavors to support school…
Abstract
Purpose
A number of empirical studies and evaluations in Norway and Sweden shows variabilities in the degree to which the municipalities succeed in their endeavors to support school principals’ instructional leadership practices. In response to this situation, the Norwegian and Swedish directorates of education have developed a joint collaborative design for practice learning of instructional leadership. Based on findings from two separate studies, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to theory development and improved practice for school district administrators and their subordinated school leaders.
Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on the data from participants who completed the program in June 2015, June 2016 and June 2017, respectively. The data are based on individual reflection documents from students on their learning and new leadership practices 4 months, 16 months and 28 months after the end of the program.
Findings
The project subjected to this study, labeled “Benchlearning,” involved learning from experiences of others, observational learning, dialogic group learning and in the final round translating what is learnt into the social and cultural context in which the individual school principal’s school is situated. When participating school principals experience observation-based learning together with trusted colleagues, followed by vicarious learning from these experiences in their schools, the authors see some facilitating factors to be of particular importance: learning infrastructure, digital tools, compulsory tasks associated with preparation and subsequent experiments with their teachers. Emerging from the analysis was a systematic balancing act of autonomy and structure running through the various learning activities. Finally, a strong evidence was found that developing core competence in digital learning and formative assessment among teaching staff required enhanced distributed leadership across the whole school organization. By sharing leadership tasks on instructional issues with teachers and other non-leaders, principals succeeded in leveling up instructional leadership significantly.
Research limitations/implications
The implications of the study can be summed up in the following four principles. First, policy makers should take into accounts the fact that principals’ motivation and willingness to initiate change processes can be created in a synergy between structured school visits and engagement in learning groups based on a sound theoretical foundation. Second, within a socially contracted practice in a well-designed learning group, it is possible to raise principals’ level of self-efficacy. Third, a systematic reflection process on authentic practice is an example of how principals can develop their metacognitive capacity and how knowledge can be transformed into new practice. Finally, educators should be trained to be process leaders in order to create a balance between demand and support in promoting principals’ learning of new instructional leadership practices.
Practical implications
School district administrators should take into accounts the fact that changing practices will be supported by sense-making processes involving discussions about how new instructional practices are justified. Specifically, shifts in talk and actions will also involve shifts in the ways people relate to each other and how they relate to their internal context. Further, leadership programs should include trying out new practices as the focal learning mode, accompanied by individual and collective reflective activities.
Originality/value
The findings of the study underscore the mutual interdependence of distributed leadership and student-centered focus accompanied with the school’s learning capacity as enabling conditions for principals’ practice learning in the field of instructional leadership.
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The ideational connections between social democracy and basic income is the theme of this article. Social democracy is not a fixed doctrine, but as a movement it shares some key…
Abstract
The ideational connections between social democracy and basic income is the theme of this article. Social democracy is not a fixed doctrine, but as a movement it shares some key ideas with the policy of basic income, like solidarity, equal opportunity, freedom and social security. Due to current challenges emerging from waves of digitalisation, globalisation, etc., the support for a universal basic income has taken off, but not among social democratic politicians. The article argues that the social democratic policy of full employment implies an increasingly tough work orientation that is challenging to reconcile with de-commodifying social rights, which has characterized social democratic welfare states. It is further argued that a strict reciprocity-based policy has not proven effective in getting people into work on a permanent basis, and that the current challenges require new policy ideas. Two alternatives are discussed: guaranteed jobs and a basic income. The article argues that the lack of enthusiasm for the last option among social democrats is based on the misconception that a basic income will harm people's motivation to work, their self-respect, the social economy and the principle of justice. The article sheds light on this misconception. In the closing remarks, the proposal for an ‘emergency basic income’ is considered in view of the current global corona crisis.
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Fiona Measham and Henry Simmons
This study aims to assess service user characteristics, uptake and outcomes for drug checking services offered to over 250,000 English festival-goers in summer 2018 and to compare…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess service user characteristics, uptake and outcomes for drug checking services offered to over 250,000 English festival-goers in summer 2018 and to compare findings with earlier years, wider festival-goers and the general population.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 2,672 substances of concern were submitted by the public and tested by chemists in mobile laboratories on 24 show days at seven festivals. Results were embedded in 2,043 individually tailored brief interventions (BI) delivered by health professionals to 4,240 service users. Comparative data were collected through anonymous self-report surveys with 1,291 respondents at five of the same festivals.
Findings
Three percent of drug-using festival-goers received BI, 95% of whom had not previously accessed health services regarding their alcohol or other drug use. Drug checking service users were significantly more likely to be younger, male and past month polydrug users with a wider range of drugs consumed in the last month compared with the general festival population. For samples matching purchase intent, nearly half intended to reduce dosage, with younger and female service users significantly more likely to reduce dosage. For substances identified as other than expected, nearly two thirds disposed of them.
Social implications
Festivals are potential sites to deliver innovative health interventions and to monitor their outcomes, reduce the risk of poisoning and overdose, and facilitate access to follow-up support services.
Originality/value
This study suggests that there is value in event-based services that provide risk reduction communications directly to young adults engaged in higher risk drug use compared with wider event and general populations.
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Tancredi Pascucci, Brizeida Hernández Sánchez and José Carlos Sánchez García
Work-family conflict is an important topic which had an evolution, starting from a static definition, where work and family domains were divided, to a more dynamic and complex…
Abstract
Purpose
Work-family conflict is an important topic which had an evolution, starting from a static definition, where work and family domains were divided, to a more dynamic and complex balance. COVID-19 has influenced society and created a significant distress among families and working activity, and this topic has been characterised by a major interest, considering some old definitions where this balance was considered problematic but not as an enriching opportunity.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used SCOPUS to find all records mentioning work-family conflict, by considering book, article and review, excluding conference paper and considering only records written in English language. After a duplicated and not pertinent record removal, the authors obtained a number of 675 records. The authors considered 437 records from SCOPUS to create a cluster map.
Findings
Using SCOPUS and VOSviewer the authors have clustered 5 different areas, which are regrouped in next clusters considering keywords with most co-occurrence and significancy: Work-life balance and burnout gender cluster job stress and performance social and family support job satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
Cluster map is origined only by SCOPUS database.
Originality/value
This work aims to find a state of art about this topic, creating hypothesis where this problem has been exacerbated by 2020 due to important society modifications created by COVID-19, where recent evolution of work-family balance has been complicated by papers which come back to consider this balance as problematic.