Inter-agency adult support and protection practice:a realistic evaluation with police, health and social care professionals

Purpose: Collaborative inter-agency working is of paramount importance for the public protection agenda worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to disseminate the findings from a research study on the inter-agency working within adult support and protection (ASP) roles in the police, health and social care.Design/methodology/approach: This realistic evaluation study with two inter-related phases was funded by the Scottish Institute for Policing Research. This paper reports on Phase 1 which identified existing gaps in the implementation of effective inter-agency practice by reviewing the “state of play” in inter-agency collaboration between the police and health and social care professionals. In total, 13 focus groups comprising representatives from Police Scotland (n¼52), Social Care (n¼31) and Health (n¼18), engaged in single profession and mixed profession groups addressing issues including referral and information exchange.Findings: On analysing context-mechanism-outcome (CMO), gaps in joint working were identified and attributed to the professionals’ own understanding of inter-agency working and the expectations of partner agencies. It recommended the need for further research and inter-agency training on public protection. Research limitations/implications – This unique Scottish study successfully identified the inter-agency practices of health, social services and police. By means of a modified realistic evaluation approach, it provides an in-depth understanding of the challenges that professionals face on a day-to-day basis when safeguarding adults and informed strategic recommendations to overcome the barriers to good practices in organisational working. The methods used to determine CMO could benefit other researchers to develop studies exploring the complexities of multi-causal effects of cross-boundary working. The use of the same case study in each focus group helped to neutralise bias. However, the voluntary nature of participation could have resulted in biased perceptions. The limited numbers of health professionals may have resulted in less representation of health sector views.Practical implications: Collaborative inter-agency working is of paramount importance for public protection worldwide. This paper reports on a Scottish study that focussed on the coordinated and integrated practices amongst the police, health and social services’ professionals who support and protect adult members of society at risk of harm.Social implications: Whilst the focus of this study has been on ASP, the conclusions and recommendations are transferable to public protection issues in many other contexts.Originality/value: Studies on the joint-working practices amongst police and health and social services’ professionals who support and protect adult members of society at risk of harm are uncommon. This  study investigated professionals’ perceptions of gaps and concerns pertaining to integrated working by means of a realistic evaluation approach. It recommended the need for further research and inter-agency training on public protection

Factors Driving Key Account Manager Performance

Key account management has been highlighted as a significant area of academic research (Leigh and Marshall 2001, Workman et al. 2003) and both managers and academics alike are of the view that suppliers need to develop long-term relationships with selected strategic customers. Despite a recent academic focus on Key Account Management, there have only been a limited number of published studies on the individual Key Account Manager (KAM) (Sengupta et al. 2000, Schultz and Evans 2002, Guenzi et al. 2007, 2009) and it remains an under-investigated research area (Guenzi et al. 2009). This paper endeavours to explain the underlying factors underlying Key Account Manager relationship performance serving to expand extant literature in key account management

Identifying the Characteristics of Key Account Managers that Drive Performance

A conceptual model of the factors that are linked to the performance of a Key Account Manager has been developed. There is a paucity of research in the correlation between the Key Account Manager’s personal and behavioural characteristics and their influence of the individual and organisation performance. A review of the literature underlines that the Key Account Manager can described as a strategic orchestrator or lynch pin and their key role is to coordinate activities with other members of their organisation. As a result, their individual characteristics will be tested against trust, collaboration and communication which are essential for the interpersonal and interdepartmental roles played by a Key Account Manager. The conceptual model has been developed through an extensive review of the relevant literature and a qualitative pre-study. The model will be tested by a large scale survey

Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen.

The development of Interprofessional Education (IPE) in Aberdeen during the last 20 years has had a distinctive Scottish focus as the health and social care agenda in north of the border has become increasingly different from that in England. Since 1999 the devolved government in Scotland introduced different legislation and policies in a different health care system impacting on IPE development

Removal of Heavy Metals Using Novel Adsorbent Materials

Heavy metal contamination is a growing concern throughout the world, particularly as industrial and urban activities have increased. Inadequate water and wastewater treatment, coupled with increased industrial activity, have led to increased heavy metal contamination in rivers, lakes, and other water sources in developing countries. To address these concerns, a significant amount of research has been conducted on various novel adsorbents to evaluate their ability to remove heavy metals. Thus, in this study, MIL-100(Fe) and MIL-101(Cr) are fabricated and investigated to determine their ability to remove copper (Cu2+), cadmium (Cd2+), and lead (Pb2+) from aqueous solution. The experimental data fit most closely to the Freundlich model, followed closely by the Linear isotherm model. However, the values for the Freundlich parameter n were close to 1, which suggests that the adsorption followed the Linear isotherm model. The KLIN coefficient [(mg/g)/(mg/L)] for the Linear isotherm model was the largest for Cu2+, followed by Cd2+ and Pb2+. MIL-100(Fe) and MIL-101(Cr) exhibited fast adsorption kinetics, achieving equilibrium in approximately 0.5 hours. Electrostatic interactions were determined to be the dominant adsorption mechanism for the removal of Cu2+, Cd2+, and Pb2+ by MIL-100(Fe) and MIL-101(Cr), which is consistent with similar adsorption studies. This study shows that MIL-100(Fe) and MIL-101(Cr) are effective adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution

Diversity in interprofessional education: disciplines and topics.

This paper challenges the notion that interprofessional education is only about health and social care, and examines perspectives on diversity in relation to inclusivity and relevance in university education. It draws on evidence from the implementation of an interdisciplinary event titled "Strictly Come Dining" and a module titled "The Arts and Humanities in Health and Social Care Contexts" - both are within undergraduate curricula. Diversifying the disciplines and topics involved in interprofessional education brings holism to staff and student development, both personally and professionally. It develops graduate attributes for students and promotes employability

Using online communities to develop IPE in practice.

Interprofessional education has been perceived as problematic to teach, because of the logistics involved in managing large groups of students. The two universities in Aberdeen (Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen) decided to co-develop an online module that would combine face-to-face practical experience with computer-mediated discussion. Students interacted in interprofessional groups of 30, working to complete tasks depending on the year and course of study. These groups have the potential to stay together for the duration of the students' courses, helping to establish virtual learning communities that facilitate informal and serendipitous learning