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This research aimed to investigate staff knowledge and attitudes towards working with adults with both a learning disability and a mental health difficulty. Government policy in the UK suggests a shift in service provision such that the treatment of people with a learning disability who have mental health problems should be undertaken by mainstream mental health services rather than specialist learning disability services.Staff members from both specialist and mainstream services took part in a series of focus groups to discuss their experiences and attitudes about working with this group of people. The transcriptions of the groups were analysed to identify common themes. Findings from the study suggest that staff within mainstream services currently feel that they are inadequately trained to deal with the often complex mental health needs of this group. Conversely, staff in learning disability services expressed concern about losing their specialist skills in generic services.The implications of the themes raised are discussed, particularly in relation to future service provision. Care will need to be taken if service redesign is to be achieved without detriment to service users.

This chapter explores the linkage between the careers of women over the lifespan and their experience of stress. Traditional models of career stages were developed by studying men's careers and do not fit the complexities of women's careers. Several newer models of careers have appeared in the literature but none of these models adequately address the issues women face as they juggle work responsibilities and their family lives. We discuss the Kaleidoscope Career Model (KCM) as a means of understanding the parameters that may affect women's decision making about their careers and the relationship between these parameters and the experience of stress. Testable propositions based on this model using the Kaleidoscope Careers Self-assessment Inventory (KCSI) are included as ideas for future research. Recommendations for organizational programs and policies are also detailed.

Vocational higher education and skills are recognised as key factors in shaping an economy to adapt to fast-emerging business models that disrupt workplace behaviours. Employers require graduates to be “work-ready”, emphasising the need to demonstrate resilience, as a critical desired behaviour (CBI, 2019). This case study shares the integrated curriculum design, co-creation and operationalisation of “Graduate Transitions” workshops that were piloted in a compulsory final-year module across a number of programmes in a higher education institutions’ business faculty to enhance graduates “work readiness”.

The collaboration and leadership thinking of industry professionals, academics and career consultants designed and co-created a workshop that enhances transitioning student resilience and prepares them for their future of work. Action research gathered data using a mixed-methods approach to evaluate student and stakeholder feedback.

Evidence indicates that the workshops actively embed practical coping strategies for resilience and mindful leaders in transitioning graduates. It assures employers that employability and professional practice competencies are experienced by transitioning graduates entering the future workplace.

Limitations to this research are clearly in the methodology and concentrating on the co-creation of an innovative curriculum design project instead of the tools to accurately evaluate the impact in a systematic manner. There was also limited time and resource to design a more sophisticated platform to collect data and analyse it with the imperative academic rigour required. Emphasis on piloting and operationalisation of the intervention, due to time and resource restrictions, also challenged the methodological design.

The positive feedback from these workshops facilitated integration into the curriculum at an institution-wide level. This paper shares with the academic community of practice, the pedagogy and active learning design that could be customised within their own institution as an intervention to positively influence the new metrics underpinning graduate outcomes.

This pioneering curriculum design ensures that employability and professional practice competencies are experienced by graduates transitioning to the workplace.

The improving global health (IGH) programme is a leadership development programme that aims to develop leadership skills and behaviours alongside quality improvement methodology in National Health Service (NHS) employees in a global health setting. Through collaboration, experiential learning and mentorship, the programme aims to produce both vertical and horizontal leadership development in its participants. This paper aims to describe the programme and its impact, in terms of leadership development, in a sample of participants.

Open coding and thematic analysis of leadership development summaries (LDS) completed by 39 returned IGH participants were conducted. LDS are written on completion of the overseas placement; participants reflect on their personal leadership development against the nine dimensions of the NHS Healthcare Leadership Model (2013).

These IGH programme participants have reported a change in the way they think, behave and see the world. A development in sense of self and experience in developing team members are the two most commonly reported themes. Adaptability, communication, overcoming boundaries, collaborative working, “big picture” thinking and strategic thinking were also identified.

The study is limited by the relatively low number of completed LDS. More work is needed to understand the long-term effect of this type of leadership development on the NHS. Other leadership development programmes should consider focussing on vertical and horizontal leadership development.

This more granular understanding of the leadership skills and behaviours developed and how it is the programme’s design that creates it, has not previously been described.

The purpose of this paper is to explore primary care psychological therapists’ experiences of working with mid-life and older women presenting with intimate partner violence (IPV) and develop a theoretical framework using a grounded theory approach to identify the experiences of those practitioners working with this phenomenon.

Interviews with 17 practitioners were conducted. The data analysis was informed by a grounded theory approach, which requires three states of data coding: open, axial and selective. Data codes were thematically sorted into causal, contextual, strategic, intervening, interactional and consequential conditions.

A core state of therapist helplessness was uncovered. The framework demonstrates that psychological therapists can doubt their ability to work meaningfully with women over 45 years of age experiencing IPV. To avoid the core state of helplessness, therapists use strategies such as avoiding asking questions about partner violence, making assumptions of how patients interpret their own experiences, addressing symptoms rather than the root cause and going above and beyond in attempts to rescue patients. The consequence of therapists’ helplessness often results in burnout.

The framework identifies barriers in working effectively with IPV and women in the mid-to older-aged populations.

This study is the first to suggest a framework that is grounded in practitioner experience with capability to transfer to a range of professionals working with mid-to older-aged women such as forensic, medical and specialist psychologists.

The increased use of the Internet has suggested that there may be many advantages to both suppliers and consumers in using e‐commerce in a Web‐based environment. However, numerous concerns and disadvantages have also been expressed, mainly in the academic literature. The importance placed on these disadvantages by suppliers has not yet been studied. This study determines whether or not the advantages and disadvantages of e‐commerce revealed in the literature are deemed to be important by sample firms. This enables conclusions to be drawn about the level of insight these firms have into the technology, and their preparedness for the implementation of e‐commerce functions. This study provides evidence to suggest that there is no significant difference between the advantages of e‐commerce perceived by the responding suppliers and those presented in the literature, but that there is a significant variation with respect to the perceived disadvantages.

This paper mains to bring attention to the potential impact COVID-19 could have on suicide risk among individuals who are incarcerated and those reentering the community after incarceration (i.e. reentry), with particular emphasis on the USA, as well as provide possible solutions to mitigate suicide risk.

This paper provides an overview of the association between the COVID-19 pandemic policies and suicide, the vulnerabilities specific to prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic, relevant suicide risk factors among prisoners, the possible impact of COVID-19 on suicide risk during reentry and proposed solutions for moving forward to mitigate both risks for COVID-19 and suicide.

This paper highlights that prisoners and individuals reentering the community are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 and suicide risk and COVID-19-related stressors may further exacerbate known suicide risk factors (e.g. psychiatric symptoms, lack of positive social ties, low feelings of belonging, feelings of burden, economic problems) and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. This paper also discusses barriers (e.g. lack of funds, access to health and mental health care, COVID-19 testing and personal protective equipment) to managing COVID-19 and suicide risk within prisons and during reentry.

This paper provides a review of scalable solutions that could mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and suicide risk during this pandemic among prisoners and those reentering the community, such as psychoeducation, self-help stress management, telehealth services, increased access and reduced cost of phone calls, reduced or eliminated cost of soap and sanitization supplies in prisons and early release programs.

The objective is to extend the concept of purse parties introduced by Gosline (2009) and to explore the phenomenon of counterfeit consumption through the in-home “purse parties” channel. The authors seek to reveal themes from the depth interviews and build a consumer typology reflecting attitudes toward purse parties and counterfeit luxury products.

The method is a qualitative phenomenological approach. Authors assessed attitudes toward purse party attendance and counterfeit goods – along with any subsequent behavioral intentions or behaviors. Authors addressed the objective using depth interviews among 28 women.

Findings included five emerging themes: distinctness of in-home consumption settings, obligatory attendance, social engagement, curiosity, and disregard for legalities of counterfeit consumption/disdain for purse parties.

The sample primarily consists of female colleges students and is not representative of all consumers. Due to social desirability bias and the controversial nature of counterfeit consumption, informants may have struggled to provide honest responses.

Research implications suggest potential increases in purse party events and consumption due to informant’s blatant disregard for the legalities of the practice, and interests in social engagement, intimacy (exclusivity), and curiosity.

The main contribution is a typology representing four types of purse party consumers: loyal, curious/social, skeptic, and disengaged. This proposed typology stems from the aforementioned themes uncovered. Further, authors identify the social implications of in-home purse parties and underscore the significance of an under-investigated purchase channel.

Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the Afro‐American experience and to show the joys, sorrows, needs, and ideals of the Afro‐American woman as she struggles from day to day.

This study aims to evaluate the instances of information literacy instruction within the virtual reference system of a Canadian university library.

Coding and analysis of a sample of chat transcripts over the course of one academic year have been used.

The analysis indicated that over 50 per cent of virtual reference interactions do not lend themselves to information literacy instruction. An average of 23.6 per cent of interactions included information literacy instruction and the preferred methods of instruction were modelling and resource sharing.

While previous studies have focused on information literacy instruction provided in a virtual reference setting, this study aims to identify not only instances of information literacy but also to better understand the nature of chat queries by codifying instances of a transactional nature. The results could lead to improved best practices for chat reference, enhanced staff training and varied promotion and delivery of not just virtual reference services but of other library services as well. A portion of this research project, including partial results for the Fall semester, was presented at the LILAC Conference in Liverpool in April 2018.