Evaluation of Families Working Together: Final Report on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council

The University of Lincoln was commissioned by Lincolnshire County Council to provide an external evaluation of Families Working Together (FWT), a community budget pilot for supporting families with complex needs. This report outlines the data collected within the course of the research and the findings of the researchers

Tracing an ethic of care in the policy and practice of the troubled families programme

This paper engages with ongoing debates about care ethics in order to evaluate current policy and practice emerging out of the Troubled Families Unit. Firstly, it reflects upon the experiences of families and their key workers, and the value that they place on care ethics within family support services. Secondly, using Sevenhuijsen's (2004) 'Trace' framework for policy analysis, it questions the extent to which the family intervention model advocated within the Troubled Families Programme encompasses an ethic of care, how this may be undermined by opposing policy discourses around 'troubled families', and the impact of managerialist tendencies within the Troubled Families Programme

Criminology in the professions: turning academic benchmarks into employability skills

This report reflects on a case study example of teaching a dedicated employability module in an undergraduate criminology curriculum. The report uses various sets of data collected from students, criminology alumni, a sample of employers and university academic and support staff, to reflect on pertinent issues relating to graduate employability. Findings suggest that understanding the links between critical academic theory, technical knowledge and generic skills, are empowering both for staff and students, and such a framework represents a creative way of addressing the QAA criminology employability benchmarks. Whilst staff are unable to change the national context relating to graduate employability, understanding the pertinent issues and contradictions within the area helps in counteracting potential ‘bad news’ and also enables students to be more aware of what they need, beyond their degree, to be successful in gaining appropriate employment. Apart from the research detailed below, outcomes include a DVD entitled ‘Life after Criminology’ which features contributions from criminology alumni, academic and careers staff and students, and also a Mahara portfolio including materials used for a criminology information day held in July 2010

Evaluation of the Joint Diversionary Panel and Youth Restorative Intervention

Lincolnshire Youth Offending Service (LYOS) have been working collaboratively with Lincolnshire Police to develop a new way of responding to young people who come to the attention of the police as a result of their behaviour. In September 2017 they launched the Joint Diversionary Panel (JDP) as an out of court decision-making forum, and the new Youth Restorative Intervention (YRI) as a non-statutory disposal within the county. The University of Lincoln was commissioned to provide an evaluation of these two elements of the initiative. The evaluation was conducted between January 2018 and April 2021, and was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The evaluation was therefore adapted to be able to consider directly the impact of the pandemic on service delivery. The overall findings of the evaluation are that: Lincolnshire’s Joint Diversionary Panel has provided a robust and effective process for making informed decisions about young people in conflict with the law, which: a) prevents their unnecessary criminalisation; and b) diverts them into supportive and preventative interventions. The introduction of the Youth Restorative Intervention for use by the panel has significantly improved outcomes for young people in the county whilst maintaining community safety

Dimensions of family empowerment in work with so called ‘troubled’ families

The Troubled Families Programme has provided an impetus for interventions with families with multiple disadvantages. This article identifies the prevalence of a government discourse of ‘empowerment’ around such interventions, which fails to reflect the contested nature of the term. Qualitative interviews with families supported by the programme and their keyworkers offer an insight into their experiences and a valuable alternative to government rhetoric. It is argued that government discourses equate ‘family empowerment’ with responsibilisation, seeking to reduce the resources deployed in supporting families whilst strengthening state power to define acceptable forms of family life. By contrast, family and keyworker discourses of ‘empowerment’ are founded in the redistribution of resources towards such families, advocacy strategies, psychological support and an understanding of power relations within and beyond families, which enable families to resist specific attempts at the exercise of professional power, albeit remaining subject to a more general exercise of state control

Tracing an ethic of care in the policy and practice of the Troubled Families Programme

Drawing upon the Trace method developed by Selma Sevenhuijsen (2004), this paper has traced the discourse constructed in two key Troubled Families Programme (TFP) policy documents through the lens of care ethics, highlighting tensions between ‘care’ and ‘justice’ orientations in the neoliberal family intervention model. It is argued that whilst the family intervention model advocated has the potential to provide families with support underpinned by an ethic of care, the TFP's managerialist tendencies also create challenges to the integration of care ethics within such services. Given that the programme's financial framework generates considerable opportunity for local variation in policy implementation, the ethics of care offer a valuable moral framework by which to evaluate local practice. Moreover, engaging with a distinctly feminist ethic of care renders visible to family support services the inequalities produced through the gendered distribution of ‘caring’ responsibilities, and highlights the need for interventions to address rather than reinforce these inequalities

Papel preditivo do sentido da vida sobre o bem-estar psicológico e diferenças de gênero

Examinou-se o papel preditivo do Sentido da Vida e as diferenças em função do gênero no Bem-estar Psicológico em um grupo de 226 estudantes universitários espanhóis (87 homens, 38.5%; 139 mulheres, 61.5%), com idade entre 17 e 25 anos, M = 21.08, DT = 2.18. Foram usadas adaptações espanholas do Purpose-In-Life Test de Crumbaugh e Maholic e das Escalas de Bem-estar Psicológico de Ryff. As hipóteses a contrastar foram que de maneira significativa o Sentido da Vida prediria o Bem-estar Psicológico e que as mulheres alcançariam pontuações mais altas em algumas dimensões do mesmo. As análises estatísticas incluíram lineais simples e o teste t para mostras independentes. Os resultados mostraram que: (1) O Sentido da Vida predisse significativamente o Bem-estar Psicológico, especialmente o Bem-estar Psicológico global, a Autoaceitação, o Propósito na Vida e o Domínio do Entorno, e (2) as mulheres alcançaram pontuações significativamente superiores em Bem-estar Psicológico global, Domínio do Entorno, Crescimento Pessoal e Propósito na Vida. Estes resultados foram discutidos à luz da pesquisa precedente.Se examinaron el papel predictivo del Sentido de la Vida y las diferencias en función del género en el Bienestar Psicológico en un grupo de 226 estudiantes universitarios españoles (87 hombres, 38.5%; 139 mujeres, 61.5%), con edades entre los 17 y los 25 años, M = 21.08, DT = 2.18. Se usaron adaptaciones españolas del Purpose-In-Life Test de Crumbaugh y Maholic y de las Escalas de Bienestar Psicológico de Ryff. Las hipótesis a contrastar fueron que de manera significativa el Sentido de la Vida predeciría el Bienestar Psicológico y que las mujeres alcanzarían puntuaciones más altas en algunas dimensiones del mismo. Los análisis estadísticos incluyeron regresiones lineales simples y la prueba t para muestras independientes. Los resultados mostraron que: (1) El Sentido de la Vida predijo significativamente el Bienestar Psicológico, especialmente el Bienestar Psicológico global, la Autoaceptación, el Propósito en la Vida y el Dominio del Entorno, y (2) las mujeres alcanzaron puntuaciones significativamente superiores en Bienestar Psicológico global, Dominio del Entorno, Crecimiento Personal y Propósito en la Vida. Estos resultados fueron discutidos a la luz de la investigación precedente.This study examines the predictive role of meaning in life and gender-specific differences on psychological well-being of 226 Spanish undergraduates (87 men, 38.5%; 139 women, 61.5%) ranging in age from 17 to 25 years, M = 21.08, SD = 2.18. Measures included both the Spanish adaptations of the Crumbaugh and Maholic's Purpose-In -Life Test and the Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-Being. The hypothesis stated that meaning in life would predict psychological well-being and that women would reach a higher score in several dimensions of psychological well-being. Statistical analysis included simple linear regressions, and a t-test. Results showed that: (1) meaning in life was a significant predictor variable of psychological well-being, especially of global psychological well-being, self-acceptance, purpose in life, and environmental mastery; and (2) women reached a higher score, statistically significant, in global psychological well-being, environmental mastery, personal growth and purpose in life. Findings were discussed in the light of previous researches

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Basic science232. Certolizumab pegol prevents pro-inflammatory alterations in endothelial cell function

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and a leading cause of death. Chronic systemic inflammation involving tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF) could contribute to endothelial activation and atherogenesis. A number of anti-TNF therapies are in current use for the treatment of RA, including certolizumab pegol (CZP), (Cimzia ®; UCB, Belgium). Anti-TNF therapy has been associated with reduced clinical cardiovascular disease risk and ameliorated vascular function in RA patients. However, the specific effects of TNF inhibitors on endothelial cell function are largely unknown. Our aim was to investigate the mechanisms underpinning CZP effects on TNF-activated human endothelial cells. Methods: Human aortic endothelial cells (HAoECs) were cultured in vitro and exposed to a) TNF alone, b) TNF plus CZP, or c) neither agent. Microarray analysis was used to examine the transcriptional profile of cells treated for 6 hrs and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysed gene expression at 1, 3, 6 and 24 hrs. NF-κB localization and IκB degradation were investigated using immunocytochemistry, high content analysis and western blotting. Flow cytometry was conducted to detect microparticle release from HAoECs. Results: Transcriptional profiling revealed that while TNF alone had strong effects on endothelial gene expression, TNF and CZP in combination produced a global gene expression pattern similar to untreated control. The two most highly up-regulated genes in response to TNF treatment were adhesion molecules E-selectin and VCAM-1 (q 0.2 compared to control; p > 0.05 compared to TNF alone). The NF-κB pathway was confirmed as a downstream target of TNF-induced HAoEC activation, via nuclear translocation of NF-κB and degradation of IκB, effects which were abolished by treatment with CZP. In addition, flow cytometry detected an increased production of endothelial microparticles in TNF-activated HAoECs, which was prevented by treatment with CZP. Conclusions: We have found at a cellular level that a clinically available TNF inhibitor, CZP reduces the expression of adhesion molecule expression, and prevents TNF-induced activation of the NF-κB pathway. Furthermore, CZP prevents the production of microparticles by activated endothelial cells. This could be central to the prevention of inflammatory environments underlying these conditions and measurement of microparticles has potential as a novel prognostic marker for future cardiovascular events in this patient group. Disclosure statement: Y.A. received a research grant from UCB. I.B. received a research grant from UCB. S.H. received a research grant from UCB. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interes