A study of the views of practitioners, managers and the professional body, on the purpose of support and supervision for guidance practitioners working as personal advisers

In the context of Connexions and an inclusion agenda, practice for careers advisers (now called personal advisers) has changed. Those working intensively with the 'harder-to-help' appear to need support and supervision. For most (at practitioner, manager and the professional institute level) this is a novel practice and the meanings/perspectives on what it is, and what it can do, are not shared. The study explored these views using a qualitative approach with the intention of foregrounding differences and similarities. Following dissemination of the findings, the aim is to enhance the effectiveness of any models put into place. In exploring the formation of a discourse on support and supervision in the field of career guidance, the study evaluated the usefulness of discourse theory. Through the use of discourse theory the study also examined the need for support and supervision. Ten personal advisers, three line managers and three representatives of the professional and training body were interviewed. Analysis employed the techniques of a grounded, thematic approach that searched for the most important themes for each group. Three main themes emerged from that analysis: - the need for a structured process - managing stress and avoiding burn out - time constraints within a bigger picture of constant change. Although there were many similar views about the purpose of support and supervision, there were differences in emphasis between the groups. For personal advisers the central purpose was to 'manage stress and avoid burn out': support and supervision was viewed as offering a restorative space within, at times, a stressful work environment. While line line managers and representatives of the professional community also talked about this, their views about purpose brought to the fore other aspects. Line managers viewed monitoring of performance as a central function of support and supervision. For the professional representatives the purpose of support and supervision was to 'enhance professional development within the bigger picture of organisational change'. Both groups made use of a professional discourse that placed the needs of the client at the centre of the purpose of support and supervision. They also viewed support and supervision through a lens that must consider accountability and use of the resources of time and personnel: for line managers this was the primary focus of their talk about support and supervision. Foucault's concept of 'productive power' was used in the examination of these differences. The central story for the personal advisers was the need for a restorative space to manage stress and avoid burn out. This discourse on the purpose of support and supervision was positioned above the function of benefiting work with clients. The study concludes that this discourse needs to be heard and not silenced by other more powerful views on the purpose of support and supervision

Developing mobility power tactics and strategies: the experiences of Central Eastern European workers in Scotland

Purpose The purpose of this article is to examine the tactics and strategies utilised by Central Eastern European (CEE) migrant workers as they strive to develop their mobility power within the employment relationship and outside of the workplace. Design/methodology/approach Data is drawn from three qualitative organisational case studies. In total 70 interviews with migrant workers, managers and HR staff were undertaken. There were also nine focus groups with migrant workers across the case studies. Findings Developing mobility power is not straightforward, particularly in the context of hard HRM strategies. The majority of CEE workers across the case studies viewed the employment relationship as temporary; however, people found it difficult to develop the mobility power necessary to leave and move to a better job. This can be attributed to a combination of people's individual subjective factors and employment in occupations with limited structural and associational power. Originality/value This article engages with debates concerning the agency of migrant workers. Existing studies have focused upon the way in which migrant workers utilise mobility power to leave unfavourable employers. However, this article builds upon current debates by examining how migrant workers develop their mobility power. There is also consideration of the individual and collective dimensions of powe

Skill requirements in retail work: The case of high-end fashion retailing

This article considers skill requirements in retail work, drawing on the example of high-end fashion retailing. It considers debates about the required 'soft' and 'hard' elements of skill for such work. Drawing on Cockburn's typology - skill residing in the worker; in what is required to perform a job; and as a socially constructed political concept - it seeks to offer a more nuanced discussion of the nature of skills in retail work beyond the usual characterization of such work as being inherently low skilled. Data are reported from 37 interviews with managers, supervisors and employees in a range of high-end fashion retailing outlets. The article recognizes how this work was seen as skilled by the interviewees, particularly with regard to the desired product knowledge and selling ability required for such work. Lastly, it seeks to refine Cockburn's typology in understanding skill requirements in retail workdiv_BaMBesen-Cassino Y (2014) Consuming Work: Youth Labor in America. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. Bozkurt O and Grugulis I (2011) Why retail demands a closer look. In: Grugulis I and Bozkurt O (eds) Retail Work. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 1-24. Brown A, Charlwood A and Spencer DA (2012) Not all that it might seem: why job satisfaction is worth studying despite it being a poor summary measure of job quality. Work, Employment and Society 26(6): 1007-18. Cockburn C (1983) Brothers: Male Dominance and Technological Change. London: The Pluto Press. Experian (2016) Experian identifies which UK retail centres are best placed to survive and thrive. Available (consulted 28 June 2016) at: http://www.experian.co.uk/marketing-services/newsretailscape- uk-retail-centres-best-placed-to-thrive.html Gatta M (2011) In the 'blink' of an eye - American high-end small retail businesses and the public workforce system. In: Grugulis I and Bozkurt I (eds) Retail Work. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 49-67. Gatta M, Boushey H and Appelbaum E (2009) High-touch and here-to-stay: future skills demands in US low wage service occupations. Sociology 43(5): 968-89. Green F (2011) What is Skill? An Inter-Disciplinary Synthesis. London: LLAKES Centre, Institute of Education, University of London. Grugulis I and Vincent S (2009) Whose skill is it anyway? 'Soft' skills and polarization. Work, Employment and Society 23(4): 597-615. Hochschild A (1983) The Managed Heart. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Hurrell S, Scholarios D and Thompson P (2013) More than a 'humpty dumpty' term: strengthening the conceptualization of soft skills. Economic and Industrial Democracy 34(1): 161-82. Ikeler P (2015) Deskilling emotional labour: evidence from departmental store retail. Work, Employment and Society. Epub ahead of print 9 November. DOI: 10.1177/0950017015609031. Income Data Services (IDS) (2015) Pay and Conditions in Retail 2015. Hebden Bridge: Thomson Reuters/IDS. International Labour Organization (ILO) (2015) Employment relationships in retail commerce and their impact on decent work and competitiveness. Available (consulted 27 June 2016) at: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/-ed_dialogue/-sector/documents/publication/ wcms_351453.pdf Korczynski M (2005) Skills in service work: an overview. Human Resource Management Journal 15(2): 3-14. Lloyd C and Payne J (2009) 'Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing': interrogating new skill concepts in service work - the view from two UK call centres. Work, Employment and Society 23(4): 617-34. Mason J and Osborne M (2008) Business strategies, work organisation and low pay in United Kingdom retail. In: Lloyd C, Mason G and Mayhew K (eds) Low Wage Work in the United Kingdom. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 131-68. Misra J and Walters K (2016) All fun and cool clothes? Youth workers' consumer identity in clothing retail. Work and Occupations 43(3): 294-325. Nickson D, Warhurst C, Commander J, Hurrell S and Cullen AM (2012) Soft skills and employability: evidence from UK retail. Economic and Industrial Democracy 33(1): 62-81. Nickson D, Warhurst C, Cullen AM and Watt A (2003) Bringing in the excluded? Aesthetic labour, skills and training in the new economy. Journal of Education and Work 16(2): 185-203. Nickson D, Warhurst C and Dutton E (2005) The importance of attitude and appearance in the service encounter in retail and hospitality. Managing Service Quality 15(2): 195-208. Nickson D, Warhurst C, Witz A and Cullen AM (2001) The importance of being aesthetic: work, employment and service organization. In: Sturdy A, Grugulis I and Wilmott H (eds) Customer Service. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 170-190. Pettinger L (2004) Brand culture and branded workers: service work and aesthetic labour in fashion retail. Consumption, Markets & Culture 7(2): 165-84. Pettinger L (2006) On the materiality of service work. The Sociological Review 54(1): 48-65. Quinn L, Hines T and Bennison D (2007) Making sense of market segmentation: a fashion retailing case. European Journal of Marketing 41(5-6): 439-65. Vallas SP (1990) The concept of skill: a critical review. Work and Occupations 17(4): 379-98. Warhurst C and Nickson D (2007a) Employee experience of aesthetic labour in retail and hospitality. Work, Employment and Society 21(1): 103-20. Warhurst C and Nickson D (2007b) A new labour aristocracy? Aesthetic labour and routine interactive service. Work, Employment and Society 21(4): 785-98. Warhurst C, Tilly C and Gatta M (2016) A new social construction of skill. In: Buchanan J, Finegold D, Mayhew K and Warhurst C (eds) Oxford Handbook of Skills and Training. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 72-79. Williams C and Connell C (2010) 'Looking good and sounding right': aesthetic labour and social inequality in the retail industry. Work and Occupations 37(3): 349-77.31pub4653pub

DNMT3B Oncogenic Activity in Human Intestinal Cancer Is Not Linked to CIMP or BRAFV600E Mutation

Summary: Approximately 10% of human colorectal cancer (CRC) are associated with activated BRAFV600E mutation, typically in absence of APC mutation and often associated with a CpG island methylator (CIMP) phenotype. To protect from cancer, normal intestinal epithelial cells respond to oncogenic BRAFV600E by activation of intrinsic p53 and p16-dependent tumor suppressor mechanisms, such as cellular senescence. Conversely, CIMP is thought to contribute to bypass of these tumor suppressor mechanisms, e.g. via epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes, such as p16. It has been repeatedly proposed that DNMT3B is responsible for BRAFV600E-induced CIMP in human CRC. Here we set out to test this by in silico, in vitro, and in vivo approaches. We conclude that although both BRAFV600E and DNMT3B harbor oncogenic potential in vitro and in vivo and show some evidence of cooperation in tumor promotion, they do not frequently cooperate to promote CIMP and human intestinal cancer

Silica suspension and coating developments for Advanced LIGO

The proposed upgrade to the LIGO detectors to form the Advanced LIGO detector system is intended to incorporate a low thermal noise monolithic fused silica final stage test mass suspension based on developments of the GEO 600 suspension design. This will include fused silica suspension elements jointed to fused silica test mass substrates, to which dielectric mirror coatings are applied. The silica fibres used for GEO 600 were pulled using a Hydrogen-Oxygen flame system. This successful system has some limitations, however, that needed to be overcome for the more demanding suspensions required for Advanced LIGO. To this end a fibre pulling machine based on a CO2 laser as the heating element is being developed in Glasgow with funding from EGO and PPARC. At the moment a significant limitation for proposed detectors like Advanced LIGO is expected to come from the thermal noise of the mirror coatings. An investigation on mechanical losses of silica/tantala coatings was carried out by several labs involved with Advanced LIGO R&D. Doping the tantala coating layer with titania was found to reduce the coating mechanical dissipation. A review of the results is given here

Temporal and spatial patterns of bovine Escherichia coli O157 prevalence and comparison of temporal changes in the patterns of phage types associated with bovine shedding and human E. coli O157 cases in Scotland between 1998-2000 and 2002-2004

Background: Escherichia coli O157 is an important cause of acute diarrhoea, haemorrhagic colitis and, especially in children, haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS). Incidence rates for human E. coli O157 infection in Scotland are higher than most other United Kingdom, European and North American countries. Cattle are considered the main reservoir for E. coli O157. Significant associations between livestock related exposures and human infection have been identified in a number of studies. Results: Animal Studies: There were no statistically significant differences (P = 0.831) in the mean farm-level prevalence between the two studies (SEERAD: 0.218 (95% CI: 0.141-0.32); IPRAVE: 0.205 (95% CI: 0.135-0.296)). However, the mean pat-level prevalence decreased from 0.089 (95% CI: 0.075-0.105) to 0.040 (95% CI: 0.028-0.053) between the SEERAD and IPRAVE studies respectively (P < 0.001). Highly significant (P < 0.001) reductions in mean pat-level prevalence were also observed in the spring, in the North East and Central Scotland, and in the shedding of phage type (PT) 21/28. Human Cases: Contrasting the same time periods, there was a decline in the overall comparative annual reported incidence of human cases as well as in all the major PT groups except 'Other' PTs. For both cattle and humans, the predominant phage type between 1998 and 2004 was PT21/28 comprising over 50% of the positive cattle isolates and reported human cases respectively. The proportion of PT32, however, was represented by few (<5%) of reported human cases despite comprising over 10% of cattle isolates. Across the two studies there were differences in the proportion of PTs 21/28, 32 and 'Other' PTs in both cattle isolates and reported human cases; however, only differences in the cattle isolates were statistically significant (P = 0.002). Conclusion: There was no significant decrease in the mean farm-level prevalence of E. coli O157 between 1998 and 2004 in Scotland, despite significant declines in mean pat-level prevalence. Although there were declines in the number of human cases between the two study periods, there is no statistically significant evidence that the overall rate (per 100,000 population) of human E. coli O157 infections in Scotland over the last 10 years has altered. Comparable patterns in the distribution of PTs 21/28 and 32 between cattle and humans support a hypothesized link between the bovine reservoir and human infections. This emphasizes the need to apply and improve methods to reduce bovine shedding of E. coli O157 in Scotland where rates appear higher in both cattle and human populations, than in other countrie

High rates of unsuccessful transfer to adult care among young adults with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aimed to describe the proportion of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) who had experienced an unsuccessful transfer from a pediatric rheumatology team to an adult rheumatologist and to compare the characteristics of those who achieved successful transfer to those who did not.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a systematic chart review of all patients with JIA who attended their final Montreal Children's Hospital JIA clinic appointment between 1992 and 2005. We tracked these patients for the two years after transfer to an adult rheumatologist. We then compared characteristics of patients with successful and unsuccessful transfers of care. Variables pertaining to disease characteristics, disease severity and psychosocial factors were examined. Univariate analyses were performed to determine if any single factor was associated with the outcome of unsuccessful transfer of care.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>52% of patients fulfilled our criteria for unsuccessful transfer. Of the variables tested, an active joint count (AJC) of zero at last visit was associated with the outcome of unsuccessful transfer (OR = 2.67 (CI 1.16-6.16; p = 0.0199)).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Despite the presence of a coordinated process of transfer from pediatric to adult health care for the majority of the patients in this study, there was a high rate of unsuccessful transfer and/or sustained follow up which is disheartening. We found that patients with less active disease at the time of transfer, as indicated by a lower AJC, were more likely to be lost to follow up. Recent literature suggests that even in the least severe categories of JIA, 50% of patients persist with active disease into adulthood. Thus educating all JIA patients about the possibility of disease flare in adulthood may improve their adherence to recommendations for sustained follow-up in the adult milieu. This may lead to improvement of longitudinal outcomes for all JIA patients.</p

Injectable semaglutide and reductions in HbA1c and weight in the real world in people switched from alternative glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists

The ABCD semaglutide audit was designed to capture the routine clinical outcomes of people commenced on semaglutide in the UK. Previous work showed differential reductions in HbA1c and weight dependent on previous glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) exposure. The analysis, in this research letter, shows that decreases in HbA1c and weight associated with semaglutide occur irrespective of previous GLP-1RA use. However, HbA1c reductions were less if switched from dulaglutide or liraglutide and weight changes were attenuated if switched from dulaglutide or exenatide, potentially suggesting differing potencies between GLP-1RAs. Dedicated studies with head-to-head comparisons are needed to confirm these findings

Mapping the Routes: An exploration of charges of racism made against the 1970s UK Reclaim the Night marches

This article addresses early charges of racism, made against the original UK Reclaim the Night (RTN) marches in the 1970s. These charges appear to have stuck, and been accepted almost as a truism ever since, being maintained in several academic texts. Using archive materials, and recent, empirical qualitative research with founding RTN activists and participants, I shall investigate the emergence of RTN in the UK in 1977 and the practicalities and influences behind this type of protest. I will also consider possible reasons behind the charges of racism, addressing justifiable critiques and concerns. I will conclude that the specific charges made against the first RTN marches were inaccurate. However, I will also explore possible reasons why concerns about racism surrounded these marches at their formation. © 2014