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The purpose of this paper is to outline the development, piloting and evaluation of the Who’s Challenging Who? (WCW) training intervention for social care staff to improve their empathy and attitudes towards people with learning disabilities (LD) and challenging behaviour (CB).

A phased approach was taken to the development and testing of the intervention. Initially, the existing literature was reviewed, the theoretical background of the intervention was developed, and then the intervention was designed. A pilot study was undertaken, followed by further development, and a large-scale randomised controlled trial (RCT).

WCW had a small positive effect on staff empathy 20 weeks after the intervention, and small to moderate effects for other staff reported outcomes (e.g. positive empowerment attitudes and positive work motivation). Being trained by people with LD and CB encouraged staff to reflect on the impact they have on the people they support. The trainers with LD valued their role, and saw benefits beyond this (e.g. friendships).

It is possible to carry out high-quality RCT evaluations of social care practice, and research should continue to generate evidence in this way, as in healthcare settings. However, there were difficulties in retaining participants.

People with LD can be actively involved in the co-production and delivery of social care training.

Employment and a fair wage can increase the confidence and empowerment of people with LD.

This is the first large-scale RCT of an intervention that aimed to improve empathy/change attitudes in social care staff who work with people with LD and CB.

This paper builds on existing studies by drawing on Conservation of Resources theory to explore the losses, psychological impacts as well as recovery processes of the 2017/18 volcanic disaster on Ambae Island, Vanuatu.

This discussion is based on local perspectives and personal accounts collected through a series of eight semi-structured interviews (five males and three females).

The volcanic activity and subsequent displacement and evacuation led to significant resource loss which had a spiralling nature, causing psychological harm. Locals invested resources to recover and protect against future loss in diverse ways and, as resource gains were secured, experienced emotional relief. Key to recovery and healing included returning “home” after being displaced and reinvigorating cultural practices to re-establish cultural continuity, community and identity. Resource gains spiralled as people reconnected and regained a sense of place, optimism and the motivation to rebuild.

Numerous studies have drawn upon the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory to explore how resource loss can trigger psychological distress during environmental disasters; however, it has not been applied in Vanuatu, the most at-risk nation globally to natural hazards. This paper builds on existing studies by exploring personal accounts of resource loss, distress and recovery, and providing insights into resource spirals, caravans and passageways.

Education doctoral (EdD) students (mentees) typically hold full-time leadership positions in education-related fields while completing their degree. The types of support these scholar-practitioners need is unique because of their focus on balancing full-time work, academic, and personal needs. This study aims to explore mentor support systems for mentees in their first and second year of the EdD program through a group mentoring program, which is designed to provide resources and access to mentors to promote successful degree completion in five years or less.

Mentors participated in monthly presentations and discussions with mentees throughout the 2018–2019 academic year, which were video recorded. At the end of the academic year, mentors partook in an interview or focus group meeting.

Themes emerged related to mentors’ focus on the dissertation process; emphasis on outreach for support; discussions and work/life balance; selection of presentation topics; perceptions of networking opportunities with mentees; desire to build stronger connections with mentees; and concerns/opinions about the mentoring format.

The design of a mentoring program for EdD mentees varies throughout the doctorate degree pathway. Mentors support mentees in their doctoral journey through presentations and discussions about relevant topics during their first two years in the doctoral program. Additional studies are needed regarding EdD mentoring programs for students in the third year to the completion of the degree.

Few studies exist related to mentoring programs for scholar-practitioners in EdD programs. Results from this research provide EdD faculty and advisors insights to group mentoring and discussion topics for first and second year EdD students, based on the mentors’ perspectives.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implications of claimed detrimental impacts for the agricultural activity of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) ecosystem health in Queensland, Australia. The authors discuss the complex interaction of factors that have contributed to the decline in reef ecosystems and the challenges presented by multiple industries operating within the GBR catchment area. The authors then discuss measures employed to address agricultural run-off, claimed to be a significant factor in declining reef water quality.

Surveys of land managers were undertaken in partnership with two of the six natural resource management (NRM) organizations operating in areas adjacent to the GBR identified as having very high risk of natural and anthropogenic runoff. The sample population was obtained from a membership database within the two regions. Participants include land managers from the both regions who engaged in sugar cane production (Region 1 and Region 2, included in this paper) and cattle production (Region 2, to be reported later). Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed including open-ended responses.

A large-scale study of land managers reveals several reasons for the lack of success at reducing agricultural run-off. The authors discuss the rationale for a move to a theory-grounded social marketing approach to encouraging land manager behavior change, highlighting barriers, and potential enablers of sustained behavior change.

This study is first of its kind that discusses the behavior of land managers in the GBR catchment area and highlights facilitators and impediments of land managers’ behavior change toward GBR protection actions.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the prominent cognitive biases that influence Lean practices in organisations that have a multi-cultural work environment which will aid the organisational managers and academics in enhancing the understanding of the human thought process and mitigate them suitably.

A multiple case study was conducted in organisations that were previously committed to Lean practices and had a multi-cultural work environment. This research was conducted on five companies based on 99 in-depth semi-structured interviews and seven process observations that sought to establish the system-wide cognitive biases present in a multi-cultural Lean environment.

The novel findings indicate that nine new biases influence Lean implementation and practices in a multi-cultural environment. This study also found strong connectivity between Lean practices and 45 previously identified biases that could affect positively or negatively the lean methodologies and their implementation. Biases were resilient enough that their influence on Lean in multi-cultural workplaces, even with transient populations, did not demonstrate cultural differentiation.

Like any qualitative research, constructivism and narrative analyses are subjected to understanding based on knowledge gained on the subject, and data may have been interpreted differently. Constructivist co-recreation of process scenarios based result limitations is therefore acknowledged. The interactive participation in exploring the knowledge sought after and interaction that could have a probable influence on the participant need to be acknowledged. However, the research design, multiple methods of data collection, generalisation based on data collection and analysis methods limit the effects of these and findings are reliable to a greater extent.

The results can provide an enhanced understanding of biases and insights into a new managerial approach to take remedial steps on biases’ influence on Lean practices that can result in improved productivity and well-being from a business process perspective. Understanding and mitigating the prominent biases can aid Lean manufacturing processes and support decision makers and line managers in improving lean methodologies’ effectiveness and productivity. The biases can be negated and used to implement decisions with ease. The influence of biases and the model could be used as a basis to counter implementation barriers.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that connects the cognitive perspectives of Lean business processes in a multi-cultural environment to identify the cognitive biases that influence Lean practices in organisations that were previously committed to Lean practices. The novel findings indicate that nine new biases and 45 previously identified biases influence Lean implementation and practices in a multi-cultural environment. The second novelty of this study shows the connection between cognitive biases, Lean implementation and practices in multi-cultural business processes.

Superintendents’ agency in the US is shaped by governance systems within education systems. These Education Governance Systems have been in a state of flux and experienced turbulence for twenty years. The professional challenge this research addresses is how do 14 credentialed educational professional African American women superintendents with doctorates and track records of school improvement, navigate the turbulence to empower families, and Empower Young Societal Innovators for Equity, Renewal (EYSIER), Social Mobility, and Peace.

This chapter identifies three aspects of a theory of knowledge to action to emerge from the empirical evidence presented. First, African American women superintendents need to know how to access policy and legislation, how to stay up to date with policy and need to be empowered to challenge policy. Policy has the back of African American women fighting institutionalised racism. Second, African American women superintendents need role models, and mentors with wisdom who can create proactive and mobilising networks across the state and the nation to advocate for and to support the teachers’ and leaders’ professional learning to be the best teachers, leaders and superintendents they can be. Finally, the African American women superintendents who have been self-selecting, or identified as potential future superintendents by current superintendents and schoolboards, need to be part of succession planning that transcends the short elected lives of district school boards. Newly incumbent African American women superintendents need to be empowered by Education Governance Systems to enable them to deliver on their manifestos and track records of outstanding school improvement with the impact strategies they were employed to implement. The impact strategies include promoting high-quality home–school engagement and ensuring all students learn how to learn, are culturally sensitive, ask good questions and solve problems as Young Societal Innovators for Equity and Renewal. The chapter recommends a network of African American women superintendents implements this theory of knowledge to action and that their work is documented, and if successful in optimising students’ learning, and outcomes, disseminated to build capacity for EYSIER.

This study contributes to the understanding of the health effects of pesticides exposure and of how pesticides have been and should be regulated.

This study presents literature reviews for the period 2000–2013 on (i) the health effects of pesticides and on (ii) preference valuation of health risks related to pesticides, as well as a discussion of the role of benefit-cost analysis applied to pesticide regulatory measures.

This study indicates that the health literature has focused on individuals with direct exposure to pesticides, i.e. farmers, while the literature on preference valuation has focused on those with indirect exposure, i.e. consumers. The discussion highlights the need to clarify the rationale for regulating pesticides, the role of risk perceptions in benefit-cost analysis, and the importance of inter-disciplinary research in this area.

This study relates findings of different disciplines (health, economics, public policy) regarding pesticides, and identifies gaps for future research.

At the centre of recent reforms relating to Scottish teacher education is the report of a large-scale review, ‘Teaching Scotland's Future’ (Donaldson, 2011). This chapter provides a critical overview of one aspect of the review, namely partnership. Two key agendas underpinned the 50 recommendations contained in the Donaldson Report: the development and strengthening of partnership between universities, local authorities and schools; and, the modernisation and ‘re-invigoration’ of teacher professionalism. In ‘Teaching Scotland's Future’ it was argued that both of these are required for the development of ‘high quality’ teachers through initial teacher education. The report positioned teaching as an intellectual occupation, highlighting the complexity involved, making clear that teacher preparation should remain within the context of higher education.

Although the key messages from ‘Teaching Scotland's Future’ received support from across the education sector, the extent to which they have been achieved in practice remains unclear. We will explore the extent to which this key text has been translated into current initial teacher education provision through results from the Measuring Quality in Initial Teacher Education (MQuITE) Project and the ways in which partnership was experienced in post-Donaldson working. Through this partnership working will be examined in Scotland. The chapter will conclude by considering where we are now, and some final thoughts will be presented about the role that ‘Teaching Scotland's Future’ can play in a changing partnership policy landscape.

Describes a methodological study to evaluate the quality of care for an elderly population in the treatment of hypertension from a fairly simple analysis of medical records in primary care, with or without the use of additional information from patients, and shows how this type of data can be used to point out shortcomings in primary care. The data derive from a community survey of elderly people in one area of Jerusalem and relied on personal interviews, blood pressure measurements and an analysis of medical records over a period of four years. The measures used are: the percentage of persons without blood pressure (BP) measurement in a given year; the maximum “gap” between consecutive BP measurements in a given year; the rate of BP measurement per clinic visit; the percentage of hypertensives treated; and the percentage of hypertensives under control. The prevalence rates for hypertension in this elderly population vary between 40 per cent and 59 per cent according to the definition used. Using a simple and straightforward analysis of sick‐fund records several shortcomings in the surveillance and control of hypertension were detected. Calculation of the percentage of untreated hypertensives required a separate information source ‐ the screening. A BP survey is an important complement to an analysis of records. An ongoing evaluation of the quality of care of hypertensives in an elderly population should be based on screening, interviews with patients and analysis of the physician′s records. These provide an overall picture of the care in each medical practice enabling the physician to improve the quality of care provided to his or her patients.