Henri Temianka Correspondence; (mcgrory)

https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/temianka_correspondence/2367/thumbnail.jp

Perceptions of safe staffing, self-reported mental wellbeing and intentions to leave the profession among UK social workers:a mixed methods study

The purpose of the present study was to examine social workers perceptions of safe staffing levels and correlate these perceptions with standardised measurements of wellbeing in the UK. This cross-sectional mixed methods study analysed data from 406 social workers from November 2022 until late January 2023. Data were collected using anonymous online surveys including both qualitative and quantitative methods examining mental wellbeing, burnout, and intentions to leave the profession post-COVID-19. Findings revealed that only one-third of social workers responding perceived that they work in an environment of safe staffing. There were also significant differences in wellbeing and an increase in personal, work-related, and client-related burnout in social workers who believed their service did not operate a safe staff-to-service user ratio. Likewise, compared to those who perceived their service to operate within a safe staff-to-service-user ratio, those who perceived unsafe ratios were more likely to communicate their intention to leave the profession. Qualitative findings helped contextualize the quantitative results. These findings suggest that increased demand for social work services, shortage of qualified social workers, high workloads, inadequate resources, and retention problems, contribute to additional pressure on existing staff and have implications for policy, practice, and research in social work

Safe staffing and workload management in social work: a scoping review of legislation, policy and practice

In Northern Ireland, social work-specific legislation is planned for safe staffing across the governmental sector. As part of a broader research project to inform this development, we conducted a scoping review seeking examples of safe staffing definitions, safe staffing-related legislation, policy and practice in social work and associated professions from the UK and internationally. We searched English language databases in 2023 websites and reference lists as well as grey literature. Finding no international examples of social work-specific safe staffing definitions, legislation, or policy outside of Children’s Services, we offer a tentative definition to the current debate. Our scoping review found examples of individual social workers and local teams developing caseload management practices to promote ‘safer’ working, which may be useful for policymakers and regulators to consider. However, these need greater conceptual clarity, consensus over definitions and outcomes, and evaluation for cost-effectiveness. Given the limited evidence in this area, recommendations include the need for further research to ascertain what ‘safe staffing’ does, can and should mean in social work and what can work in different contexts and at different levels of policy and practice to inform service user and social worker safety in social work

Animal origin of 13th-century uterine vellum revealed using noninvasive peptide fingerprinting

The authors acknowledge Science Foundation Ireland European Research Council (ERC) Support Award 12/ERC/B2227, Valeria Mattiangeli, and the Trinity Genome Sequencing Laboratory (TrinSeq) for MiSeq support. This work was supported by the Marie Curie International Fellowship PALIMPSEST FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF 299101, a University of Manchester Research Institute seedcorn grant, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship funding, and ERC Investigator Grant 295729-CodeX.Tissue-thin parchment made it possible to produce the first pocket Bibles: Thousands were made in the 13th century. The source of this parchment, often called “uterine vellum,” has been a long-standing controversy in codicology. Use of the Latin term abortivum in many sources has led some scholars to suggest that the skin of fetal calves or sheep was used. Others have argued that it would not be possible to sustain herds if so many pocket Bibles were produced from fetal skins, arguing instead for unexpected alternatives, such as rabbit. Here, we report a simple and objective technique using standard conservation treatments to identify the animal origin of parchment. The noninvasive method is a variant on zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS) peptide mass fingerprinting but extracts protein from the parchment surface by using an electrostatic charge generated by gentle rubbing of a PVC eraser on the membrane surface. Using this method, we analyzed 72 pocket Bibles originating in France, England, and Italy and 293 additional parchment samples that bracket this period. We found no evidence for the use of unexpected animals; however, we did identify the use of more than one mammal species in a single manuscript, consistent with the local availability of hides. These results suggest that ultrafine vellum does not necessarily derive from the use of abortive or newborn animals with ultrathin hides, but could equally well reflect a production process that allowed the skins of maturing animals of several species to be rendered into vellum of equal quality and fineness.PostprintPeer reviewe