Families and work: revisiting barriers to employment

"In recent years, considerable effort has been put into supporting parents to make the transition into work. This study was commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to explore whether these incentives were helping parents to overcome the barriers known to impede their engagement in the formal labour market. The report is based on fieldwork conducted in 2009. However, the concluding chapter considers the significance of the findings in light of proposals for the introduction of the Universal Credit and other reforms of the tax and benefit systems proposed by the Coalition Government." - Page 1

IMPACT OF CUSTOMER BRAND RELATIONSHIP THROUGH FACEBOOK ON THE LEVEL OF CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

In the last few years customer engagement has received asignificant attention of researchers and marketers’ because there is arise in the awareness of customers as value recipient to value cocreator.Two hypotheses were developed i.e. 1) Customer BrandRelationship through facebook impacts on the level of customerengagement. 2) There is a gender difference on the variable ofcustomer engagement on facebook. A survey was designed by takingten different brands of cloths that have their web pages on onlinesocial media. A sample of 211 individuals was approached to measurethe engagement status of 10 clothing brands through online socialmedia. Customer Engagement Scale (CES; Justina Malciute, 2012)was used to measure the impact of customer brand relationshipthrough Facebook on the level of Customer Engagement. Regressionanalysis was performed to measure the results. The results of thestudy suggest that customer brand relationship through facebookwill impact the level of customer engagement. Moreover, no genderdifference was found on the variable of customer engagement onfacebook

Warm Homes Oldham evaluation : final report

The Warm Homes Oldham scheme is a project delivering home energy improvements and advice to people at risk of fuel poverty, with a particular focus on people at risk of poor health as a result of fuel poverty. This report focuses on three activities: analysis of monitoring and survey data collected by Keepmoat, the lead contractor in the Warm Homes Oldham scheme analysis of qualitative interview data collected by the evaluation team valuation of impacts of improvement to wellbeing to assess economic benefits

A Clinical Audit of blood component transfusion practices in Paediatric intensive care unit of a Tertiary Care Hospital, Rawalpindi

Background: To audit the practices involved in blood component transfusion in the management of patients in paediatric intensive care unit of our hospital and to determine the appropriateness of transfusion after comparing them with clinical practice guidelines recommended by Royal Children Hospital (RCH). Methods: All patients admitted in pediatric intensive care which were managed with blood component transfusions were retrospectively audited for 8 weeks. Management details including indications of transfusion and its appropriateness were recorded. Clinical practice guidelines recommended by Royal Children Hospital (RCH) were used as standards. Results: One hundred and ninety-two transfusions were done during the study period out of which 58 percent were done to males and 41 percent to females. Majority of transfusions were done in infants (44%) and O Positive blood group was found rampant among blood groups of all recipients (33.3%). Red cell concentrates were predominantly (55.7%) and appropriately (72%) transfusion among all blood components. Platelet concentrates were most inappropriately transfused (57%) followed by fresh frozen plasma (54%) and red cell concentrates (27%). There was significant percentage of inappropriate transfusion of all blood components (p=0.00). Conclusion: All blood components were significantly found inappropriately transfused, commonest component being platelet concentrates

Community Gatekeepers: Power, Pitfalls and Possibilities When Recruiting and Researching Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Participants

Using data from a large primarily qualitative research project on how people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities experience and access health services, this methodological article focuses on the role of the community gatekeeper – a role that has significance for research teams globally when attempting to involve those facing multiple forms of exclusion. Drawing on standpoint feminist principles and using a reflexive approach, researcher positionality, situated knowledges, and the power dynamics between researchers, participants, and community gatekeepers are reflected upon. Addressing a gap in the literature by providing real-life examples of the power and influence of gatekeepers at all stages of the research process, the findings reveal: the extent to which gatekeepers of research with BAME participants are facilitative or obstructive during the research process; how they affect processes such as the recruitment of participants, access to community venues, the conduct of the research interview, and the dissemination of findings; and finally, the implications for future research with so called “hard-to-reach” groups

Qualitative Research with Pakistani Communities: The Implications and Emotional Impact of a Shifting Insider–Outsider Position

Starting from a Black feminist standpoint, this reflexive article uniquely draws on empirical data and recollections from two research studies to consider experiences of researching Pakistani communities from the assumed position of an insider. In doing so the article provides a first-hand account of insider-outsider experiences in the field from the perspective of a qualitative researcher (who is a woman of minority ethnic background). Examples from the data reveal how factors such as a deep understanding of social and religious practices constitute types of insider knowledge necessary for gathering culturally relevant and fine-grained information. The methodological and ethical advantages and dilemmas of conducting research positioned as an insider include, knowledge of place and cultural identification as aiding access to and research with communities seldom heard in research, but also how commonalities–gender, race– can fuel participant reluctance and hostility. The articles main contribution, however, is to expose the shifting nature of the insider-outsider position whereby in some instances the assumed insider can become an outsider. This has methodological and ethical implications such as profound emotional impacts on the researcher and potentially destabilising effects on research

THE IMPACT OF THE FIRM GENERATED CONTENTS AND THE USER GENERATED CONTENTS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA ON BRAND EQUITY ELEMENTS

It is an era of modern communication technology, whereconsumers are well aware and connected to products and brands. Bygenerating content related to products or brands consumers can nowmake or destroy a brand. Communication through online social mediahas shaped the overall communication strategy of the firms, as moreand more firms are struggling hard to understand and control theonline social media communication for better and secured future ofthe brand and the firm. The aim of this study was to measure the impactof the firm generated social media communication and the usergenerated social media communication on the elements of brandequity. A conceptual framework was developed based on Aaker’s BrandEquity model. The constructs and scale items were adopted fromprevious studies and had valid reliability. SEM was performed throughAMOS. Findings of this research revealed that both the firm generatedand the user generated social media communications have a positiveinfluence on the brand equity elements