Whistleblowing: the inside story - a study of the experiences of 1,000 whistleblowers

This report presents the findings of a collaborative research project by the University of Greenwich and Public Concern at Work, on how the whistleblowing process develops from internal to external whistleblowing. Data consists of 1,000 cases from the Public Concern at Work advice line

What works for Nutrition? Stories of success from Vietnam, Uganda and Kenya

This report discusses the drivers of progress in tackling multiple forms of malnutrition in these three countries: Vietnam, Uganda, and Kenya. It also identifies some of the challenges which pose as barriers to sustaining progress. Finally, it makes recommendations for key stakeholders such as governments of high burden countries, donor governments, development partners, and civil society, on their role to promote further success

The voice of experience: the unmet needs of older people in Barnet.

Between February and July 2008 six focus groups of older people were conducted in six locations across Barnet. The participants in the focus groups were either regular attendees at day centres or older people groups which met regularly. The aim of the study was to identify the unmet needs of older people across the Borough. The focus groups identified that need was felt across many domains of older peoples’ lives, including health and access to health care, exercise and responsibility for one’s own well-being, access to information, companionship, transport and the home environment

Whistleblowing as a countermeasure strategy against food crime

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to undertake a two-phase desktop review of literature sources in order to conceptualise, frame, and critique existing whistleblowing models and strategies and consider how whistleblowing strategies form part of an effective food crime management system (FCMS) especially for small and medium sized organisations. Design/methodology/approach Existing literature from academic sources, financial, healthcare, food industries has been reviewed and critiqued in order to construct a conceptual framework that can inform future empirical research. Findings Whistleblowing strategies can form an effective part of a FCMS. Appropriate regulatory protection of those who whistleblow is crucial to not only safeguard individuals but also to mitigate food crime and protect consumers from loss and potential harm. Barriers to whistleblowing exist and if these are not addressed then individuals will be reluctant to report food crime. Further empirical research is required to assess the influence of these and other factors identified in this research and how they can be overcome. Originality/value The framework will provide food industry practitioners with guidance on the effective application of whistleblowing strategies within a FCMS

Gender and youth strategy for the market driven agri-mechanization solutions for small women farmers and youth entrepreneurs in Kenya

As men increasingly seek paid work away from home farm labour, women and youth become “the farmers of tomorrow.” Evidence shows that enabling women to have equal access to inputs, services, and land improves yields. They often pay greater attention to crop quality than men. This detailed report outlines the project proposal, main aims, and strategies to target rural youth and women in agriculture. The four County Governments in Kenya where the project is being implemented will create a conducive environment for the transformation and commercialisation of the market-driven gender-responsive agri-mechanization solutions and opportunities

Two 'transitions': the political economy of Joyce Banda's rise to power and the related role of civil society organisations in Malawi

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Review of African Political Economy on 21/07/2014, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03056244.2014.90194

Tourist attitudes towards water use in the developing world: A comparative analysis

This paper examines tourists' attitudes towards water use based on comparative data from interviews with tourists in Zanzibar, The Gambia and Dominican Republic. Unsustainable water use, accentuated by climate change, threatens access to water which potentially forms a source of conflict between tourists, tourism businesses, residents and the environment. Additionally it raises issues about rights of access to water. The results emphasise the actual nature and scale of tourist use of water and their lack of awareness of the impacts of this use on the local environment and community. This lack of awareness becomes an added indicator of the growing unsustainability of tourism in certain destinations and needs to be considered alongside the longer-term scenarios of climate change. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd

A 'symptom-triggered' approach to alcohol withdrawal management

In acute hospital settings, alcohol withdrawal often causes significant management problems and complicates a wide variety of concurrent conditions, placing a huge burden on the NHS. A significant number of critical incidents around patients who were undergoing detoxification in a general hospital setting led to the need for a project to implement and evaluate an evidence-based approach to the management of alcohol detoxification-a project that included a pre-intervention case note audit, the implementation of an evidence-based symptom-triggered detoxification protocol, and a post-intervention case note audit. This change in practice resulted in an average reduction of almost 60% in length of hospital stay and a 66% reduction in the amount of chlordiazepoxide used in detoxification, as well as highlighting that 10% of the sample group did not display any signs of withdrawal and did not require any medication. Even with these reductions, no patient post-intervention developed any severe signs of withdrawal phenomena, such as seizures or delirium tremens. The savings to the trust (The Pennine Acute Hospital Trust) are obvious, but the development of a consistent, quality service will lead to fewer long-term negative effects for patients that can be caused by detoxification. This work is a project evaluation of a locally implemented strategy, which, it was hypothesised, would improve care by providing an individualised treatment plan for the management of alcohol withdrawal symptoms. © 2014 MA Healthcare Ltd

No longer hungry in hospital : improving the hospital mealtime experience for older people through Action Research

‘The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com.’ Copyright Blackwell Publishing DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2007.02063.xAims and objectives.  This study aimed to improve the mealtime experience of older people in a hospital setting through helping staff to make changes to their clinical practice and the ward environment. Background.  Poor nutritional care has been a persistent and seemingly intractable problem for many years. Methods.  We used an action research design for the study, drawing on techniques from practice development to support the action phase of the work, including action learning, role modelling good practice and reflection. The ward context was explored at the beginning and end of the study using focus groups, interviews, observation and benchmarking. Results.  Ward staff made a number of changes to their nursing practice. The most significant was that all staff became engaged with, prioritized and were involved in the mealtime, ensuring that there was sufficient time and expertise available to assist patients with eating. Conclusions.  This study demonstrates that it is possible to change nursing practice at mealtimes and that this change leads to improvements in patients’ experience through ensuring they receive the help they need. Relevance to clinical practice.  Although hospital mealtimes are frequently viewed as problematic, we have shown that nurses can be enabled to make changes to their practice that have a positive impact on both the mealtime experience and wider patient care.Peer reviewe