Exploring employer behaviour in relation to Investors in People

"This report explores employer behaviour in relation to choices they make about Investors in People (IIP) accreditation in order for the future IIP strategy to ensure IIP is relevant, adds value to employers and tackles any barriers to successful delivery. The research focuses on the decision-making processes and experiences of three key groups of employers: employers that have held IIP accreditation for a number of years; employers who previously held IIP accreditation but have let this lapse; and employers who committed to gaining IIP accreditation but subsequently did not to go through the assessment process" - page 1

Therapists\u27 Perceptions of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Treatment for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse is prevalent worldwide and can result in adverse psychological effects that persist into adulthood. Therapists must identify therapeutic treatments for adult survivors of child sexual abuse who continue to experience psychological difficulties, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of therapists about eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) as a tool to assist adult women survivors of child sexual abuse through the healing process and to regain their abilities to function and behave appropriately. Data were collected through the Moustakas Theory (1994) with 10 therapists who provided therapeutic or counseling services (or both) through EMDR to women with a history of repeated sexual abuse as children. The therapists perceived EMDR as more effective in treating child sexual abuse trauma than other treatment options because it involved the body and worked rapidly, although the treatment may involve a danger of dysregulating the patient. Results indicated the perceived role of EMDR in a treatment program is to allow patients to remember traumatic events without reliving them and to free patients from shame and prepare them to learn more effective coping skills. The therapists implemented EMDR by building rapport, conducting a thorough assessment, focusing treatment on the most distressing elements of past traumas and present triggers, and teaching the client skills for coping with distress. This study contributes to social change by adding more knowledge and awareness about women survivors of child sexual abuse and the various available treatments, thereby helping the long-term impact of women\u27s health with histories of childhood sexual abuse

Patient perceptions regarding benefits of single visit scale and polish : a randomised controlled trial

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Giving voice to quality and safety matters at board level: a qualitative study of the experiences of executive nurses working in England and Wales

Background Recent reports into egregious failing in the quality and safety of healthcare in the UK have focussed on the ability of executive boards to discharge their duties effectively. Inevitably the role of executive nurses, who's remit frequently includes responsibility for quality and safety, has become the object of increased scrutiny. However, limited evidence exists about the experiences of the UK's most senior nurses of working at board level. Objective We aimed to generate empirical evidence on the experiences of executive nurses working at board level in England and Wales. We posed two research questions: What are the experiences of nurse executives working at board level? What strategies and/or processes do nurse executives deploy to ensure their views and concerns about quality and safety are taken into account at board level? Design Qualitative interviews using semi-structured interviews. Setting NHS England and Wales. Participants Purposive sample of 40 executive board nurses. Methods Semi-structured interviews followed by a process of thematic data analysis using NVivo10 and feedback on early findings from participants. Results Our findings are presented under three headings: the experiences of executive nurses working with supportive, engaged boards; their experiences of being involved with unsupportive, avoidant boards with a poor understanding of safety, quality and the executive nursing role and the strategies deployed by executive nurses to ensure that the nursing voice was heard at board. Two prominent and interrelated discursive strategies were used by executive nurses – briefing and building relationships and preparing and delivering a credible case. Considerable time and effort were invested in these strategies which were described as having significant impact on individual board members and collective board decision making. These strategies, when viewed through the lens of the concept of “groupthink”, can be seen to protect executive nurses from accusations by board colleagues of disloyalty whislt also actively restricting the development of “groupthink” within the board. Another finding of note was that executive boards may not be permanently fixed as either unsupportive or supportive as participants described how certain boards that were initially unsupportive adopted a more supportive attitude towards matters of safety and quality. Conclusions These highly positioned nurses can provide invaluable advice and support to boards around matters of quality and safety. However, the work of nurse executives remains an under-research area and more work is needed to better understand the ebb and flow of power and influence at play within hospital boards

Cucumber mosiac virus in lupins

Cucumber mosaic virus is a threat to lupin crops from Geraldton to Esperance, particularly to those growing in areas receiving more than 400 mm average annual rainfall. The disease markedly decreases grain yield in narrow-leafed and yellow lupins but doesnot infect albus or sandplain lupins. Worldwide , after bean yellow mosaic virus, cucumber mosaic virus is the second most important virus affecting lupins. Annette Bwye, Roger Jones and Wayne Proudlove outline the symptoms, spread and management of this serious disease

Digital explanation as assessment in university science

Assessments in tertiary science subjects typically assess content knowledge, and there is current need to both develop and assess different forms of knowledge and skills, such as communications and digital literacies. A digital explanation is a multimodal artefact created by students to explain science to a specified audience, which is an alternate form of assessment that has potential to develop and assess these other important forms of knowledge and skills. This research draws from perspectives in multimodality, educational semiotics and science education to gain a better understanding of digital explanation as a form of assessment in university science. Data sources include digital artefacts (n = 42), task descriptions and rubrics and pre-/post-interviews (n = 21) with students who created them as a task in a university science subject. Analysis involved identifying the range of media resources used across the data set, seeking patterns in how multiple resources were used and exploring students’ perspectives on the task, including their design decisions. A more detailed look at artefacts from three different science learning contexts illustrates that students base their design decisions on the content knowledge being represented, their technical capabilities to generate them and how to engage the audience. Students enjoy this form of assessment and feel that the tasks allowed them to demonstrate different sorts of capabilities than are normally assessed in their subjects. Recommendations for instructors provide guidance for considering this sort of task in tertiary science contexts

Developing a Community-Based Research Network for Interdisciplinary Science: The Alabama Entrepreneurial Research Network

The Alabama Entrepreneurial Research Network (AERN) is a program originated to encourage entrepreneurship in rural areas of economic distress. In addition to promoting prosperity in low-income areas, the program now also serves as an opportunistic research network for interdisciplinary science investigations. Through AERN, potential and existing entrepreneurs in rural areas of Alabama have access to extensive university resources and personnel to advance their ideas for improving their local economies. The network provides materials, training, counseling, and business research services. AERN now includes 15 partners located over a large geographic area. This network has been sustained for over 10 years at a non-land grant state university. This paper describes the AERN program and suggests that an extensive university bureaucracy devoted to community relationships (such as the very successful and admirable Extension System) is not always necessary for long-lasting, effective engaged scholarship. The University of Alabama (UA) team has benefited as surely as the rural partners and local entrepreneurs. We have gained skill in community-based engagement scholarship and research; journal articles have been written; cross-university collaborations have been forged; students have been involved in real-life problem solving. We see this endeavor as a positive example of how to form a sustainable university-community relationship