‘It was almost like the opposite of what I needed’:a qualitative exploration of client experiences of unhelpful therapy

Background: The issue of unhelpful and harmful therapy outcome has received an increasing amount of attention within the research literature in recent years. However, little research exists on the client's perspective of what constitutes unhelpful therapy.Aim: The aim of this study was to explore clients’ experiences of unhelpful therapy.Method: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with ten therapists who, as clients, experienced unhelpful therapy. Interview transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings: Participants recounted therapy episodes characterised by an absence of negotiation, collaboration and care; pivotal moments when they knew that they would not return; and ongoing negative effects.Conclusions: The findings of this study have implications for training and strategies for supporting clients who have been harmed by therapy

Charting the Course for Energy Efficiency in New York: Lessons from Existing Programs

This report examines the performance of the existing suite of energy efficiency efforts run by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the state’s investor owned utilities. The latest data shows that through 2014 EEPS program administrators had achieved 79 percent of their to-date savings goals. The report focuses on the best ways to transition from the EEPS program model to the emerging REV model. Reviewing publicly available information, this analysis takes stock of what the EEPS has achieved and calls for a REV planning and delivery program that builds upon lessons learned from decades of past efforts to achieve self-sustaining efficiency markets. It 1) describes the proposed changes to energy efficiency delivery currently under consideration by the Cuomo Administration, 2) reviews overall EEPS performance through the third quarter of 2014, 3) recommends a framework to serve as the basis for future decision-making, and 4) makes additional recommendations for the future of energy efficiency efforts in New York State

System hazards in managing laboratory test requests and results in primary care: medical protection database analysis and conceptual model

Objectives To analyse a medical protection organisation's database to identify hazards related to general practice systems for ordering laboratory tests, managing test results and communicating test result outcomes to patients. To integrate these data with other published evidence sources to inform design of a systems-based conceptual model of related hazards. Design A retrospective database analysis. Setting General practices in the UK and Ireland. Participants 778 UK and Ireland general practices participating in a medical protection organisation's clinical risk self-assessment (CRSA) programme from January 2008 to December 2014. Main outcome measures Proportion of practices with system risks; categorisation of identified hazards; most frequently occurring hazards; development of a conceptual model of hazards; and potential impacts on health, well-being and organisational performance. Results CRSA visits were undertaken to 778 UK and Ireland general practices of which a range of systems hazards were recorded across the laboratory test ordering and results management systems in 647 practices (83.2%). A total of 45 discrete hazard categories were identified with a mean of 3.6 per practice (SD=1.94). The most frequently occurring hazard was the inadequate process for matching test requests and results received (n=350, 54.1%). Of the 1604 instances where hazards were recorded, the most frequent was at the ‘postanalytical test stage’ (n=702, 43.8%), followed closely by ‘communication outcomes issues’ (n=628, 39.1%). Conclusions Based on arguably the largest data set currently available on the subject matter, our study findings shed new light on the scale and nature of hazards related to test results handling systems, which can inform future efforts to research and improve the design and reliability of these systems

Innovative Financing for Renewable Energy

Carbon pollution from fossil-fuel combustion is the largest contributor to climate change worldwide. Renewable energy can materially help to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their principal cause, worldwide dependence on carbon fuels. If our goal is to remain at or below 1990 numbers, then fossil fuels must be phased out of the global energy portfolio. While other factors such as energy inefficiencies in buildings, appliances and transportation, for example; deforestation, farm animal excretion, pipeline leakage, HFCs for refrigeration, black soot and changes in land use also contribute to increased emissions, finding new, innovative ways to empower people to seize the opportunities presented by clean, renewable electricity present an invaluable path to reduce carbon emissions

Social pedagogy: a scoping project for Derbyshire County Council; summary report

Derbyshire County Council (DCC) is committed to promoting positive outcomes for children and young people who are ‘Looked After’. The Authority has found that promoting a social pedagogical approach appears to have a positive impact for stakeholders. In autumn 2012 representatives from DCC’s Children and Younger Adults department met with a team of University of Derby staff from the faculty of Education Health and Sciences (EHS) to discuss the potential to further promote and embed social pedagogy into the daily worng practice of DCC staff and carers. It was agreed that an initial research project to ascertain the potential for training in social pedagogy for DCC employees was a necessary component for achieving this aim. The project involved a range of research approaches including a desk based review of literature, a number of face to face, telephone and group interviews, and an online survey. In total 209 Individuals participated in the research including managers, practitioners and foster carers. This report presents a summary of the findings of the research including a number of options and recommendations for developing an approach to teaching and training the County’s children and young people’s workforce in this aspect of their professional practice.Derbyshire County Counci

The View from the Bench and Chambers: Examining Judicial Process and Decision Making on the U.S. Courts of Appeals

For most of their history, the U.S. courts of appeals have toiled in obscurity, well out of the limelight of political controversy. But as the number of appeals has increased dramatically, while the number of cases heard by the Supreme Court has remained the same, the courts of appeals have become the court of last resort for the vast majority of litigants. This enhanced status has been recognized by important political actors, and as a result, appointments to the courts of appeals have become more and more contentious since the 1990s. This combination of increasing political salience and increasing political controversy has led to the rise of serious empirical studies of the role of the courts of appeals in our legal and political system. At once building on and contributing to this wave of scholarship, The View from the Bench and Chambers melds a series of quantitative analyses of judicial decisions with the perspectives gained from in-depth interviews with the judges and their law clerks. This multifaceted approach yields a level of insight beyond that provided by any previous work on appellate courts in the United States, making The View from the Bench and Chambers the most comprehensive and rich account of the operation of these courts to date.https://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/1137/thumbnail.jp

Party Capability and the U.S. Courts of Appeals: Understanding Why the “Haves” Win

While many studies have examined party capability theory, few have empirically examined the potential causal mechanisms underlying the theory. We do this by combining quantitative analyses with qualitative data drawn from interviews with over 60 US courts of appeals judges. We find that the “haves,” or repeat players, hire better lawyers and that these lawyers independently contribute to the success of the repeat players. We also find that the advantages of the haves extend to all parties, though to a lesser extent than the advantages enjoyed by the US government. These results remain robust after controlling for ideology

Socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent smoking behaviour and neighbourhood access to tobacco products.

Youth smoking is an important aspect of tobacco research as most adult smokers first experiment with and initiate tobacco use during their adolescence. Policy makers and researchers have given youth smoking issues a significant amount of attention over the last 20 years and this has led to significant reductions in youth smoking prevalence in New Zealand. More recently the decline in youth smoking prevalence has reached a plateau. Evidence now shows that while overall smoking prevalence has reduced, inequalities between ethnic and social groups has actually increased. This is an international trend. Young people living in low socioeconomic status areas and belonging to minority ethnic groups are at much higher risk of being a current smoker than their less deprived peers. A number of overseas studies have investigated the spatial relationship between aspects of the neighbourhood environment and adolescent smoking behaviour in an attempt to identify the most at risk groups. In particular the effect of neighbourhood socioeconomic status and the degree of access to tobacco outlets is believed to influence adolescent smoking behaviour. In New Zealand analysis of this type has mainly focused on adult smoking behaviour and the effect of tobacco outlet access is as yet unstudied. This study examines the effect of neighbourhood and high school socioeconomic status on adolescent smoking behaviour, attitudes and beliefs in Christchurch. Using information from the 2006 New Zealand Census, spatial variations in reported neighbourhood smoking prevalence have been examined. In addition, analysis of responses to smoking questions in the 2008 Year 10 In-depth Survey have been carried out show how school socioeconomic status can influence underlying attitudes and beliefs young people hold towards smoking and tobacco products. Spatial analysis has also been performed on the census dataset to investigate the relationship between neighbourhood access to tobacco outlets and youth smoking behaviour after controlling for neighbourhood deprivation. To supplement each of these quantitative data sources, focus group interviews were carried out at two high schools (one low and one high socioeconomic status). Findings from these interviews are presented as further insight into adolescent attitudes and beliefs towards smoking. Results of this research show that there is a socioeconomic effect at both a neighbourhood and school level on all adolescent smoking behaviours, attitudes and beliefs examined, except for smoking cessation. There is also evidence of greater access to tobacco outlets in low socioeconomic neighbourhoods but not so around high schools. Increased access to tobacco outlets is linked to increased adolescent smoking prevalence, more so among females than males, but this relationship disappeared in age groups 20 and above

Singular Lines in the Parameter Plane

The theory of Singular Lines, constant damping ratio-constant undamped natural frequency lines, is derived. A limitation of the parameter plane method for characteristic polynomials whose coefficients are linear functions of two variable parameters which results in undetermined roots is described. The addition of singular lines to the parameter plane diagram specifies these roots allowing solution for all roots of a given polynomial. A general method of solving for singular lines is developed and rules for predicting the existence of such lines are stated. A computer program which solves for and graphically displays singular lines in addition to constant zeta, omega, and sigma loci is presented. Singular lines are considered in terms of dominance and macroscopic root sensitivity. A dominant root line in the parameter plane is illustrated. Examples which demonstrate the application of singular line theory to linear, multivariable control systems are presented.Lieutenant Commander, Royal Canadian NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

A random key based estimation of distribution algorithm for the permutation flowshop scheduling problem.

Random Key (RK) is an alternative representation for permutation problems that enables application of techniques generally used for continuous optimisation. Although the benefit of RKs to permutation optimisation has been shown, its use within Estimation of Distribution Algorithms (EDAs) has been a challenge. Recent research proposing a RK-based EDA (RKEDA) has shown that RKs can produce competitive results with state of the art algorithms. Following promising results on the Permutation Flowshop Scheduling Problem, this paper presents an analysis of RK-EDA for optimising the total flow time. Experiments show that RK-EDA outperforms other permutationbased EDAs on instances of large dimensions. The difference in performance between RK-EDA and the state of the art algorithms also decreases when the problem difficulty increases