Assistant grade nurses and nursing students : a diary study

Background Little is known about the role of the assistant grade nurse in the clinical development of pre-registration nursing students during their practice placements; even less is known about this relationship in the mental health field. Aim To explore the relationship between assistant grade nurses and mental health nursing students. Methods Using a phenomenological approach, diaries of nine participants – three nursing students, three assistant grade nurses and three mentors – helped to inform semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings Students recognised that a substantial percentage of their practice was supervised by assistant grade nurses. There was also a clear connection between assistant grade nurse supervision and the delivery of direct care. Conclusion This study has confirmed the existence of a more extensive educational relationship between assistant grade nurses and mental health nursing students than had previously been recognised

Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools

Research on the bullying and social exclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pupils in schools is now into its third decade. For over twenty years, studies have catalogued the daily torments many LGBTs have faced and continue to face going to school (Rivers, 2011). The wealth of evidence collected has prompted several governments to take action to address the homophobia that has long been apparent in the classrooms, corridors and on the playing fields of our schools. However, despite this wealth of evidence, some politicians, religious leaders and members of the teaching profession remain opposed to the delivery of curricula that acknowledge the diversity that exists within our schools, preferring to remain silent (at best) or overtly discriminate (at worst) against those young people who identify as other than heterosexual, or those who identify as members of the opposite sex

Suicide ideation and alcohol use : understanding developmental trajectories

The absence of longitudinal data relating to experiences of victimization is a perennial problem in adolescent research. Few studies offer the opportunity to explore the developmental trajectories leading to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Although numerous cross-sectional studies have reported that substance abuse (including alcohol consumption) is a significant correlate of suicide and other life-threatening behaviors among youth who have experienced victimization [1], we do not yet fully understand how alcohol is linked to suicide ideation. Is alcohol consumption a precursor to a suicidal act or has it more a distinct role to play in the lives of young people who are daily tormented by others? We know, for example, that a significant number of those youths (aged 15–19 years) who take their own lives and do not have a history of mental illness or psychiatric care have high levels of alcohol in their blood (17.1%) and no history of alcohol dependence (3.3%). This is even more evident among 20- to 24-year-olds, where one study found that 43.8% of suicides had alcohol present in their blood, but only 9.4% had any recorded history of alcohol dependence [2]

"I am getting old and that takes some getting used to" : Dimensions of body image for older men

“I am getting old and that takes some getting used to”: dimensions of body image for older men

Local Approximations for Effective Scalar Field Equations of Motion

Fluctuation and dissipation dynamics is examined at all temperature ranges for the general case of a background time evolving scalar field coupled to heavy intermediate quantum fields which in turn are coupled to light quantum fields. The evolution of the background field induces particle production from the light fields through the action of the intermediate catalyzing heavy fields. Such field configurations are generically present in most particle physics models, including Grand Unified and Supersymmetry theories, with application of this mechanism possible in inflation, heavy ion collision and phase transition dynamics. The effective evolution equation for the background field is obtained and a fluctuation-dissipation theorem is derived for this system. The effective evolution in general is nonlocal in time. Appropriate conditions are found for when these time nonlocal effects can be approximated by local terms. Here careful distinction is made between a local expansion and the special case of a derivative expansion to all orders, which requires analytic behavior of the evolution equation in Fourier space.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures. Replaced with published version. Some extra typos correcte

Tackling Bullying in Scotland's Schools : a View from the Sidelines

This policy brief considers the proposals to reduce bullying in Scotland's schools. A number of interventions have been introduced in Scotland’s schools that that place an emphasis on peer-initiated interventions. However these interventions often fail to consider the mental health and wellbeing of the pupils involved. The role of the so-called pupil 'bystander' is fundamentally misunderstood as these pupils often have multiple roles within ‘school yard’ culture. The lack of independently evaluated evidence on the success of direct pupil-initiated interventions to reduce the level of bullying in schools should be of concern to policymakers. A key recommendation is that schools, education authorities and policymakers pause, review the evidence and have an informed discussion about the most effective interventions to deliver safer schools in Scotland