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The purpose of this paper is to document the impact of major policy changes and reductions in government funding on residential provision for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Ireland.

Ireland is unique in having a national database of people in receipt of services from specialist ID providers. Information on persons in residential settings from 2005 to 2016 was examined in terms of changes in the types of provision over time and broken down by age groups.

From 2011 onwards, cuts in government funding coincided with a continuing reduction in the overall provision of residential accommodation for adults with ID. There was a parallel increase in the number of people living with family carers, especially persons aged 55 years and over. The greatest reduction was in residential centres which was in line with recent policy but this was not matched by an increase in alternative options, with fewer people aged 20-34 living in residential accommodation of any kind. Compared to Great Britain, Ireland has proportionately more residential places with fewer people living independently.

More Irish families have to continue caring for their adult relatives into their old age. Likewise, those resident in group homes and living independently are growing older which means there is an increased likelihood they will require additional support.

This national data set is a valuable tool for monitoring changes in service provision over time and for determining the impact of government policy and funding decisions.

This paper describes the unintended and unanticipated ways an iPhone as a data collection tool created distractions during observations of five-year-old twins' digital literacy practices while in their home.

Situated in sociocultural theories of learning and development and new literacy studies, the 12-month-long case study examined young children's digital literacy practices in their homes before and during their transition into kindergarten. The article focuses on the data collection of five-year-old twins in their home with their parents, a family the author called the Skywalkers. Data sources included semistructured interviews, participant observations and informal conversations.

The mother was a low-technology user and preferred her children to engage in nondigital activities. The children were permitted 10 min every other day of “digital time.” The iPhone as a data collection tool provided them with digital access they would otherwise not have. The mother knew the focus of the study was digital engagement and that the iPhone was used for data collection (i.e. photographs and videos). Although the iPhone was intended to be used in establishing rapport and taking photographs, the children frequently asked to video record their play and therefore the iPhone became a distraction.

Given the prevalence of smartphones in Western society, the recruitment of a family with such low-technology use was unforeseen. As digital data collection increases in qualitative research, researchers should not assume that a smartphone is always appropriate for gathering photographic data. This is particularly important when investigating digital literacy practices of families in their homes.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on “Adults with learning disabilities known to local authorities in Scotland: a national dataset” by Claire Stuart and colleagues.

Drawing on experiences with the National Intellectual Disability Database in Ireland, the authors identify the key elements to be addressed such as the uses to which information from the database will be put; the definition of intellectual disability for inclusion of individuals; defining the information to be gathered; the systems for gathering information; checking and auditing the information that is collected, and the types of reports emerging from the analyses.

A national database of persons with an intellectual disability is at least desirable – if not essential – to the delivery of equitable and effective service supports. The advent of computerised data management tools makes this a realistic option in most European countries although debates continue around the protection of personal data and the costs involved in establishing and maintaining dedicated databases.

National data sets on intellectual disability can make a significant contribution to equitable and effective service planning. However, major challenges need to be overcome so that the information collected is reliable and valid.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which consumers in Melbourne understand recycling information on packaging labels and their resulting recycling behaviour.

Mixed research methods were used in the study (qualitative and quantitative approaches) in the form of randomly distributed surveys and structured face‐to‐face interviews. Both methods were administered with consumers from three demographically different areas in the metropolitan Melbourne (Australia) region. The software program SPSS was used to analyze some of the results.

The research shows that despite good intentions, consumers' understanding of packaging materials and labelling for common products, and therefore resulting sorting behaviour, is often very poor. The confusion surrounding current labelling and recycling schemes can be attributed to incorrect labelling and system complexity combined with a lack of consumer understanding and care.

Correct sorting of recyclable and non‐recyclable packaging means materials finish in the correct waste stream and recyclable materials have the opportunity to be reprocessed and eventually reused, saving raw materials as well as reducing other environmental impacts. If consumers do not correctly sort materials, recyclable packaging will go to landfill and non‐recyclable materials will contaminate the recycling stream.

The results of the research, when completed, could be used to design more effective labelling schemes for packaging to inform consumers about its recyclability. The social benefits potentially include increased diversion of recyclable materials from the waste stream and reduced costs of both recycling and waste disposal.

There has been very little research undertaken on the role and adequacy of labelling in driving consumer‐recycling behaviour, and therefore this paper fills that gap. The results in the paper may be used to further enhance environmental package labelling through policy development or commercial applications.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on the preceding article describing changing patterns in the provision and take-up of accommodation services for adults with learning disabilities in Ireland, in the context of the types of reductions in funding that have been apparent internationally for some time.

The commentary examines some of the implications and discusses some of the underlying quality of life issues implicit in the data presented. It also explores the tensions between owning one’s home and receiving specialist support and examines what supported living might enable services to achieve.

The paper concludes that the nature of economic policy and professional practice, alike, have implications for the quality of home life enjoyed by adults with learning disabilities; and that the interplay between them is more complex than is often allowed.

These issues are not new, but frustratingly enduring. Their fresh consideration might assist the urgent need to achieve a more coherent narrative capable of consistent application for present and future generations.

Although the reform of solitary confinement is underway in many jurisdictions around world, isolation remains in widespread use in many jails and prisons. The purpose of this paper is to discuss opportunities for reform in the USA that could also be applied globally.

A review of the evidence on solitary confinement policies and practices in the USA to develop recommendations for reform with global application.

Focusing on this evidence, the authors argue that solitary confinement is overused and recommend a multi-level approach available to correctional systems worldwide including: immediately limiting solitary confinement to only those cases in which a violent behavioral infraction has been committed for which safety cannot otherwise be achieved, ensuring the briefest terms of isolation needed to achieve legitimate and immediate correctional goals, prohibiting its use entirely for some populations, regularly reviewing all isolated prisoners for as-soon-as-possible return to general population, including the immediate return of those showing mental and physical health risk factors, assisting individuals who are transitioning out of isolation (either to the general population or to the community), and partnering with medical, public health, and criminal justice experts to develop evidence-based alternatives to solitary confinement for nearly all prisoners.

This paper provides an overview of the evidence supporting an overhaul of solitary confinement policy in the USA and globally where solitary confinement remains in wide use and offers recommendations for immediate steps that can be taken toward achieving evidence-based solitary confinement reform.

To be a writer, one must write. Research shows when teachers write and identify as writers, they transfer their writing practice into their classroom, positively impacting their students' writing development. Shifting instructional practices or identities requires educators to self-determine a gap in order to take on transformative learning experiences, such as mentoring, professional development, or modeled learning. Often professional development is chosen by administrators for educators to shift their instructional practice, ignoring a teacher's curriculum-maker role, and best-loved self identity. This narrative inquiry analysis details one teacher-writer in a creative writing professional development residency as she supports educators with a goal to transform educators into teacher-writers. This chapter includes the small step successes and systematic struggles the author faced as she modeled the writer's craft and writer's workshop strategies with her teachers. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the important role teachers have to decide, navigate, and discover their own best-loved self-teaching identity.

Construction projects have become larger and more complex and yet still maintain a high drive for quality. As a result of this increase in size and complexity, the quantities of documentation and information required to control the overall project process have themselves become more complex. Underpinning the goal of construction quality is real time information flow to and from the construction site along with communications between all the parties involved. Project information integration and collaboration is the key to achievement of coherent quality management and this can be attained through electronically sharing of information during the construction process. The residential sector of the construction industry continually experiences significant numbers of “snags”. Many site issues including snagging need to be resolved quickly and efficiently to avoid dispute and more importantly cost overrun. However, the distinct professions and artisans within the industry rarely acknowledge the needs of others. Indeed the snagging information they produce is often so incompatible that the next stage in many processes is to reconstruct the information into a workable format. Analysis of a range of organisations' approaches to snagging shows that they have their own distinct snagging process. What is required is a coherent approach to the use and implementation of an IT based, industry wide, snagging format which would revolutionise and streamline the recording and approval process of construction snagging.