The place of volunteering in palliative care

This chapter discusses the place and development of volunteering in palliative care in the context of hospice service provision in the UK. It draws on recent qualitative research undertaken in a large hospice in England. The research explored a range of issues connected to the process and experience of voluntary work in this setting including who volunteers, what roles volunteers take up, how they are trained and supported and the ways in which role boundaries are established and maintained. The research revealed that hospice volunteering is rewarding but often emotionally challenging and is now highly routinised and closely monitored in ways paralleling practices in the paid labour market. Although volunteers freely give their time to the work of hospice, their activities are subject to significant management prescription, with hospices increasingly adopting sophisticated business models to underpin their operation and, in many cases, their expansion (Watts, 2010)

Emotion, empathy and exit: reflections on doing ethnographic qualitative research on sensitive topics

Within ethnography, observation and participation are interwoven as sociological research practice that involves watching, listening and asking questions about people’s daily lives and experiences, and the meaning they attach to these. For ethnographic researchers a close and regular engagement with participants raises both practical and ethical challenges related to intrusion, relationship boundaries and issues of ‘attachment’ on leaving the field. Research that has the added dimension of profound sensitivity may also present the researcher with the challenge of managing the impacts on them of emotional stress caused by watching people’s discomfort and suffering. This article discusses the author’s methodological reflections on an ongoing ethnographic study of a cancer drop-in centre, focusing on the ways in which emotion and empathy shape researcher-respondent rapport. An underpinning theme of the discussion is the potential for emotion deluge and fatigue on the part of the researcher and the consequent need to establish self-care strategies

Considering the role of social work in palliative care: reflections from the literature

Social work is integral to the professional practice of the multidisciplinary palliative care team both in hospice and hospital settings. Alongside nursing, medicine and a range of other clinical and complementary therapists, social work provides practical and psychosocial support to those coming to the end of their lives. Death and dying involves loss and transformation and for many can be experienced as overwhelming such that they require help to manage their feelings and come to terms with this significant transition (Mallon, 2008). Loss is always both personal and social and so the focus of social work practice in this area includes family and social network responses to the end of life (Reith and Payne, 2009: 7). Whilst the literature has devoted much space to discussing the nature of the work of clinical and pastoral practitioners within the multidisciplinary palliative care team (see for example, Payne et al, 2004; Nolan, 2012), less has been written about the role played by social work. Drawing on both professional and academic literatures, this article sets out to explore in more detail the complex and diverse nature of palliative care social work. In outlining the psychosocial and practical tasks undertaken by social workers, consideration is also given to the allied work of psychologists and the potential for disciplinary role overlap in the provision of both psychological and psychosocial support

Teaching a distance higher education curriculum behind bars: challenges and opportunities

The provision of education that is both effective and relevant to the needs of students within prison is challenging on a number of levels. The uniqueness of prison culture with a regime characterised by a focus on security measures such as lock-downs and head counts constrains the possibilities for learning. The absence of a supportive learning environment together with an emphasis on punishment rather than rehabilitation has the effect of marginalising education in prison so that ‘education’ has come to be seen by some as ‘off limits’. Education in basic skills such as literacy and numeracy that contributes to ‘life skills’ is given priority. In contrast, access to higher education is more problematic with this generally perceived by both prisoners and prison staff as an ‘elite’ activity. This article adopts a case study approach to consider the barriers to higher education distance learning in the prison setting. It focuses on the practical and organisational constraints faced by educators in their efforts to help students in prison negotiate the different worlds of prison and higher education. It also highlights the value of one-to-one tutorial support in facilitating learning in less than optimum teaching conditions

To publish or not to publish before submission? Considerations for doctoral students and supervisors

Postgraduate research education is multi-faceted incorporating the teaching of a range of skills and study behaviours. A key skill for doctoral students is that of scholarly writing that Aitchison (2009) argues is often difficult to teach, with students unclear about the standards required for doctoral work. One benchmark of standards of academic literacy is published outputs, with Kamler (2008) pressing for greater pedagogical attention to be given to writing for publication within doctoral education. However, the case for pursuing publication as part of doctoral research experience is subject to a number of variables. This discussion paper debates some of these variables to consider writing for publication within diverse doctoral education. Features of difference will be discussed to reveal that the choice of whether or not to “publish as you go” (Taylor & Beasley, 2005: 130) is influenced by the personal, disciplinary and institutional context that frames the doctoral undertaking

Women working in construction management roles: is it worth it?

Although women’s experience of working in management has been the subject of extensive comment, the particular challenges they face in this role within male-dominated professions continue to be under-reported. Drawing on ethnographic research into the career experiences of women civil engineers in the UK, this article critically discusses how women perceive management careers in construction in light of what some regard as limited financial rewards for the high levels of stress and the long hours expected in this highly competitive industry. A feminist theoretical framework has been used to thematically analyse data from thirty-one in depth interviews with women working in both the consulting and contracting parts of the business. The study highlights cultural issues of visibility and the presenteeism ethos of the sector. It also draws attention to the material constraints of construction sites where women in authority roles are ‘embattled’ and not taken seriously because the hostile work environment enables men to put women in a subordinate place in the construction hierarchy. Women are taking up senior management posts in construction but only in very few numbers. Their success depends on assuming ‘male’ behavioural norms and intensified work patterns because ‘belonging’ in construction workplace cultures is highly gendered

Spiritual care at the end of life: whose job is it?

Interest in and recognition of the function of religious and spiritual coping in adjustment to serious illness has been growing. In particular, there has been increasing interest in the importance of understanding and valuing patients' individual spirituality as a function of providing appropriate support, particularly as part of nursing practice. This stems partly from the influence and application of palliative care principles in a range of care settings and not just hospices. Four decades of professional rhetoric have emphasised the importance of care for the 'whole' person in terms of spiritual as well as psychological, physical and social needs, without evaluating its impacts on patients or considering whether this approach is realistic in every case. Professional ideology within palliative care has been dominant in influencing a culture of openness between professional health workers and dying patients in their care, with attention to spiritual needs an increasing part of professionals' remit. New ways to both assess and address spiritual concerns as part of overall quality of life are being developed by health care practitioners as part of a package of support for people with critical and terminal illness (Randall and Downie, 2006; Watts, 2008). For this support to be meaningful, however, it is necessary to determine which dimensions of spirituality are relevant and the ways in which the human spirit can be celebrated in the face of life-threatening illness (Cobb and Legood, 2008). The ultimate value of such exploration is to make it possible for us to die the way we live (Hockey, 2002)

Visible and ultraviolet reflectance and luminescence from various Saudi Arabian and Indiana limestone rocks

Visible and ultraviolet reflectance and luminescence for natural limeston

Phylogenetic analysis of microbial communities in different regions of the gastrointestinal tract in Panaque nigrolineatus, a wood-eating fish

The Neotropical detritivorous catfish Panaque nigrolineatus imbibes large quantities of wood as part of its diet. Due to the interest in cellulose, hemi-cellulose and lignin degradation pathways, this organism provides an interesting model system for the detection of novel microbial catabolism. In this study, we characterize the microbial community present in different regions of the alimentary tract of P. nigrolineatus fed a mixed diet of date palm and palm wood in laboratory aquaria. Analysis was performed on 16S rRNA gene clone libraries derived from anterior and posterior regions of the alimentary tract and the auxiliary lobe (AL), an uncharacterized organ that is vascularly attached to the midgut. Sequence analysis and phylogenetic reconstruction revealed distinct microbial communities in each tissue region. The foregut community shared many phylotypes in common with aquarium tank water and included Legionella and Hyphomicrobium spp. As the analysis moved further into the gastrointestinal tract, phylotypes with high levels of 16S rRNA sequence similarity to nitrogen-fixing Rhizobium and Agrobacterium spp. and Clostridium xylanovorans and Clostridium saccharolyticum, dominated midgut and AL communities. However, the hindgut was dominated almost exclusively by phylotypes with the highest 16S rRNA sequence similarity to the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides phylum. Species richness was highest in the foregut (Chao(1) = 26.72), decreased distally through the midgut (Chao(1) = 25.38) and hindgut (Chao(1) = 20.60), with the lowest diversity detected in the AL (Chao(1) = 18.04), indicating the presence of a specialized microbial community. Using 16S rRNA gene phylogeny, we report that the P. nigrolineatus gastrointestinal tract possesses a microbial community closely related to microorganisms capable of cellulose degradation and nitrogen fixation. Further studies are underway to determine the role of this resident microbial community in Panaque nigrolineatus